CT To Issue Halloween Safety Guidance Soon: Lamont

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont reiterated that trick-or-treating in some form will happen in Connecticut. Lamont called in to the Mornings With Christine & Salt show on 96.5 TIC Friday morning.

“Kids are going to be wearing a mask one way shape or form,” Lamont said. “Maybe you’re not going right into the house, but the candy will be a little outside the front steps so you can keep a distance. We’ll find a way to do this safely.”

The Connecticut Department of Public Health will issue guidance on how to have a safe Halloween and trick-or-treating experience this year, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance about safer alternatives to traditional Halloween celebrations.

Higher risk Halloween activities according to the CDC include:

• Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
• Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots
• Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
• Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
• Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
• Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
• Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19

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Lower risk activities include activities with immediate members of households.

Moderate risk activities include, “...one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard),” according to the CDC.

Small group activities outside are also moderate risk.

The CDC notes that costume masks aren’t a substitute for a cloth mask. Costume masks shouldn’t be used for protection unless they are made of two or more layers of breathable fabric.

Wearing a cloth mask under a Halloween mask could also be dangerous because it could make it too hard to breathe, according to the CDC.