How to trick-or-treat safely in the age of COVID
The province has released guidance on how Manitobans can enjoy Halloween while reducing the potential spread of COVID-19.
According to the province’s website, Manitobans should focus on the fundamentals when celebrating, including staying home if you’re sick, washing and sanitizing your hands frequently, practising physical distancing when you are with people outside your household, and wearing a mask in indoor public places, as required by public health orders.
“For the most part, follow the fundamentals and follow the pubic health orders that are in place, so indoor gatherings in private residences when anyone eligible there is not vaccinated is limited to five people,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer at a news conference on Wednesday.
“Outside is safer,” he explained.
TRICK-OR-TREATING SAFETY TIPS
When it comes to trick-or-treating, the province said you should do so with a small group only, and limit to household members or a few close friends you normally have social interactions with.
It also recommends avoiding crowded, indoor parties, and following current gathering size limits.
When encountering others trick-or-treating, the province said to maintain a two-metre distance from people outside of your group, and take turns and wait until any group ahead is gone.
Want to give your home a Halloween-themed makeover? The province said you should decorate your household and yard for distance viewing.
TO MASK OR NOT TO MASK?
The province said you should wear a non-medical mask when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
You should also consider incorporating a non-medical mask into your costume, but the province said not to obstruct your eyes or sew anything onto the mask, as poking holes can make the mask ineffective.
The province also recommends masking up if you’re handing out candy.
HOW TO HAND OUT CANDY SAFELY
When it comes to handing out candy, the province recommends individual, contactless candy distribution using tools like tongs to give out treats at a distance or through a candy chute.
The province also recommended providing individual bags and to avoid self-service like a common candy bowl.
You should also provide wrapped, store-bought treats only.
Indoor or mall-based trick-or-treating is permitted where physical distancing is maintained and shared contact items are minimized or eliminated. However, the province said changing public health orders and the pandemic response system could limit or restrict these events, and you should check with the site before making plans.
PUMPKIN CARVING, HAUNTED HOUSES AND CORN MAZES
In terms of other Halloween festivities, the province recommends planning for outdoor activities where physical distancing can be maintained.
For pumpkin carving and decorating activities, provide individual tools and supplies.
The province also recommends a costume parade where physical distancing can be maintained.
Halloween attractions like haunted houses, corn mazes and pumpkin patches may be permitted depending on local restrictions. The province released guidelines for operators and attendees on its website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.