City Releases Trick or Treat Guidelines

THIS WAS RELEASED FRIDAY BY THE CITY OF EFFINGHAM:

Trick-or-treating hours in the City of Effingham will be from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday, October 31.

Trick-or treating will be challenging amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this year and may look different from previous Halloweens. However, for those who ARE welcoming trick-or-treaters to their home, leave your porch lights on. If porch lights are not on, we ask that trick-or-treaters respect the wishes of those homeowners by bypassing those residences.

If you and your family do decide to trick-or-treat this Halloween, here are a few guidelines to follow that will help protect our community and accommodate a safe Halloween experience for both participants and non-participants:

COVID-19 TRICK-OR-TREATING GUIDELINES

(These guidelines are subject to the current CDC and State requirements.)

For the Trick-or-Treaters:

An infected child going door-to-door can pass along COVID-19. If you have COVID-19, developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19, are under quarantine, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are in a higher risk category, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities.

1. Wear a mask — Incorporate a mask or face covering into your costume. Please remember that rubber or plastic masks do not offer any protection from the virus, so have a protective cloth mask layered into a costume's decorative mask.
2. Practice good hand hygiene — If you choose to go house to house for trick-or- treating, be prepared to practice good hand hygiene at every location. Bring along hand sanitizer to use before you move from one location to another.
3. Maintain social distances — While it is fun to go trick-or-treating with friends, due to the COVID-19 risk, keep the group limited to family members who are within your protected "bubble". Gathering in groups with people from outside your household increases the risks. When you are walking around with your child, you do not want to go into a big group of people or into crowded areas. Please remember that keeping social distance (at least 6 feet) from others is very important to limiting the spread of the virus.
4. Avoid "Face to Face" exposure — Interactions at any given doorway or front porch should be very brief and as limited as possible, which will help reduce the risk of exposure. Stress to your trick-or-treaters the importance of keeping their masks on and no trading or sharing masks with others.
5. Do not share props, toys, costumes, or candy containers — Keep swords, wands, masks, and other props from being passed around. Do not let trick-or-treaters exchange costumes and ask each of your trick-or-treaters to hold onto their own candy containers and not swap or consume candy until you have had a chance to inspect it.
6. Porch light must be on — If homeowners are participating, they will keep their porch lights on. If they do not have a porch light, they will have a clearly marked sign welcoming trick-or-treaters or indicating they are not participating. This is long-standing basic Halloween etiquette. If no light is on, do not go to that home. A yard light, common in many subdivisions, that usually comes on automatically at dusk is not considered a porch light and should not be an indication that it is ok to go to their door. Discuss this with your child.

For Those Giving Out Candy:

An infected person handing out candy to children coming to their door could also pass along COVID„19. If you have COVID-19, developed symptoms consistent with COVID19, are under quarantine, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are in a higher risk category, you should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.

1. Wear a mask — Incorporate a mask or face covering into your own costume if you are wearing one. Please remember that rubber or plastic masks do not offer any protection from the virus, so have a protective cloth mask layered into a costume's decorative mask.
2. Practice good hand hygiene — If you choose to give treats this Halloween be prepared to practice good hand hygiene. A suggestion would be to limit the treat giving to a single person to limit contact with others. Very frequent hand sanitizing or washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds is advised.
3. Maintain social distances — While passing out treats consider alternative ways to do so. This could be by using tongs, a candy slide, or other inventive ways to limit the contact with trick-or-treaters.
4. Sit outside behind a table or booth — If you are not a high-risk person, sit outside behind a decorated table or booth to keep social distance (at least 6 feet) to distribute treats. This will help protect not only yourself, but other individuals in your household, and the trick-or-treaters at the same time.
5. Put hand sanitizer out — While trick-or-treaters should keep a portable bottle of hand sanitizer with them, you should also consider putting out a pump bottle for those who need it, including yourself.
6. Hand out goodies instead of letting children grab them — To minimize contamination and to keep trick-or-treaters moving, hand out the treats yourself so you are the only person with a hand in the dish. Please do not leave bowls of candy outside for multiple people to touch.
7. Leave the porch light on — If you are handing out candy, keep your porch light on.

For Those NOT Giving Out Candy:

1. Keep your porch light off — If you choose NOT to participate and hand out candy, please keep your porch lights off to signify that you are not welcoming trick-or-treaters.