Halloween Spirit Pops Back Up Across Long Island, Hudson Valley

NEW YORK —It's mid-September, and so the Halloween season begins — at least 27 seasonal Spirit Halloween stores are opening in the Hudson Valley and Long Island with new protocols for the coronavirus pandemic.

And while many parents are fretting about their children's safety, and a few communities have announced regulations and cancellations, some experts are cautiously optimistic about the ability to have holiday fun.

Sandra Kesh, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and deputy medical director at the New York-based Westmed Medical Group, talked to Good Housekeeping.com in an article entitled "Is It Safe to Trick-or-Treat During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Experts Share Halloween Health Safety Tips" about trick-or-treating and other Halloween traditions.

She said the issue isn't candy or candy wrappers because surface transmission of the virus is low. Spending a long time in large groups in close proximity to one another — that's problematic, whether it's going around the neighborhood or attending a costume party.

"In areas where the community prevalence is lower, I think it's okay to plan to trick-or-treat, but it's going to be a different experience than it was last year," Kesh told the magazine. Read the whole article here.

Community prevalence is definitely lower in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island. In both, the positivity rate has stayed at around 1 percent for the past three months.

In these charts, blue stands for the number of people tested, yellow for the number of positive tests, and the orange line shows the percent of positive test results per day (based on a 7-day rolling average).

So if you're ready to get into the mood, most of Spirit Halloween's stores Monday and Tuesday in the Hudson Valley and Long Island, including:

LONG ISLAND

358B Broadway Mall
Hicksville, NY 11801

1526 Union Turnpike Ste A
New Hyde Park, NY 11040

300 W Sunrise Hwy
Valley Stream, NY 11581

56 Atlantic Ave
Oceanside, NY 11572

1504 Old Country Rd
Westbury, NY 11590

630 Old Country Rd
Garden City State, NY 11530

4250 C Jerusalem Ave
N Massapequa, NY 11758

228 E Sunrise Hwy
Freeport, NY 11520

3988 Hempstead Tpk
Bethpage, NY 11714

340 Walt Whitman Rd
Huntington, NY 11746

4000 E. Jericho Turnpike
East Northport, NY 11731

359 Smithtown Byp
Hauppauge, NY 11788

2860 Middle Country Rd
Lake Grove, NY 11755

5181 Sunrise Highway
Bohemia, NY 11716

5801 Sunrise Highway
Holbrook, NY 11741

HUDSON VALLEY

3125 E Main St
Mohegan Lake, NY 10547

1831 Main St
Peekskill, NY 10566-2505

39 N Plank Rd
Newburgh, NY 12550

1822 South Rd
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

1000 Palisades Center Dr
West Nyack, NY 10994

2685 South Rd
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

75 W Route 59
Nanuet, NY 10954

125 Westchester Ave
White Plains, NY 10601

1 N Central Ave
Hartsdale, NY 10530

8040 Mall Walk
Yonkers, NY 10704

88 Dunning Rd
Middletown, NY 10940

703 Frank Sottile Blvd
Kingston, NY 12401

There are about 1,400 or so seasonal Spirit Halloween stores nationwide. All of them sell costumes, Halloween décor and accessories for children, teens and adults.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Spirit Halloween stores have implemented additional safety precautions from previous years, including capacity limits, hospital-grade disinfectant and in-depth associate training on hand hygiene and disinfection protocols.

Online shopping remains available as well.

So get a costume and plan a small-group excursion outside Oct. 31.

SEE ALSO: Greenwich Village's Iconic Halloween Parade Canceled