Officials Offer Trick-Or-Treat Guidance For Delaware County

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Halloween is nearly here and many families and kids are wondering: will we trick-or-treat and what will it be like?

For Delaware County families who want to wrangle up candy this Halloween, officials offered guidance for how to do so safely.

The Chester County Health Department, which is serving Delaware County's health needs amid the coronavirus, provided ways to trick-or-treat while keeping your family and others safe.

Below are tips on trick-or-treating amid the coronavirus pandemic:

• Stay in your own neighborhood.
• Trick-or-treat with members of your household only.
• Have adults accompany trick-or-treaters to help them follow precautions.
• Limit the number of houses you visit and limit the time you spend at doorways.
• Ask children to stay as far away from the treat-givers as possible.
• Have an adult hold the candy/bag for smaller children.
• Only allow children to eat treats that come in their original wrapper.
• Keep your face mask on; costume masks are not a replacement — save the candy eating for when you return home!
• Talk to your neighbors about ways to enjoy Halloween safely, including creative ways to distribute treats like hanging candy from a wall or fence for children to take.
• Follow regular Halloween safety tips such as decorating costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and carrying glow sticks or flashlights to help increase visibility among drivers.

Those who are sick should not be handing out candy and officials said anyone handing out candy would wear a face mask.

They also recommend using duct tape or Halloween decor to mark a 6-foot line from where you will be stationed, as well as create one-way trick-or-treating routes, with groups arriving to a home from one direction and leaving from another.

Candy should be put on surfaces such as tables, walls, or fences for kids to take.

Anyone who is planning hand out treat bags is urged to wash their hands before preparing the bags.

Some may not want to hand out candy but still celebrate the spooky holiday.

Some alternatives to handing out candy include decorating homes, watching Halloween movies, holding a scavenger hunt in and around homes, and more.

And of course, it wouldn't be a celebration amid the coronavirus if virtual events weren't included. Officials recommend hosting a virtual costume contest or a pumpkin carving/decorating event online.

More information on celebrating the holidays among the coronavirus pandemic is available online here.