Lambertville Police Discourage Trick-Or-Treating In 2020

LAMBERTVILLE, NJ — Police in Lambertville are "advising against" door-to-door trick or treating and parties this Halloween due to the coronavirus outbreak.

To help avoid gatherings, police this year will not be closing roads, including N. Union Street, on Halloween, the department announced.

"Lambertville typically welcomes thousands of visitors on Halloween for safe and fun trick-or-treating," police said in a news release. "However, given the high rate of airborne transmission, such a high concentration of people is simply unsafe from a public health perspective."

Halloween is always a big deal in Lambertville, especially along N. Union Street, where people go all out with elaborate decorations in anticipation of the hordes of trick-or-treaters.

The Lambertville Police Department will increase the number of officers on duty Oct. 31 to help enforce restrictions.

State and federal guidelines currently restrict large indoor and outdoor gatherings due to the coronavirus. While residents may trick-or-treat "at their own risk," police urged everyone to wear masks, practice social distancing and respect homes that are not actively participating.

"We are encouraging residents not to celebrate Halloween in the same fashion as previous years in order to keep our residents safe and the transmission of this disease low," said police Lt. Robert Brown. "We have seen the transmission rate increase after gatherings are held and it is my team's responsibility to make sure that Lambertville plays its part in preventing the spread of this virus.

"We ask everyone to respect the challenges that this pandemic has caused by following guidelines for both those who will be participating as well as those who will not participate."

The City of Lambertville has issued the following guidelines:

• Any person outside on Oct. 31 should be wearing a mask, limiting personal interactions and practicing social distancing
• Any house handing out candy is asked to practice social distancing. They are asked to leave the candy outside at least six feet away and not allow anyone to come onto their porch or inside their house
• Any house that would not like residents at their property should turn off their front light, close the front door or place a sign that directs any person away from their house