THUNDER BAY – Dr. Janet DeMille says trick-or-treating should be a relatively safe activity in the Thunder Bay area.
However, the medical officer of health at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit on Wednesday said would-be ghouls and goblins should take plenty of precautions before heading out on Halloween night, starting with mask wearing and social distancing.
“First of all, if somebody has any symptoms, they should not go out for Halloween. They should not go out trick-or-treating. They should not hand out treats. That’s really important,” she said. “It’s really going out within households, so a family can go out together and go from door to door.
“Maintain distance from other people who are out. Don’t congregate on somebody’s doorstep while you’re waiting for treats to be handed out. Don’t linger, avoid touching the handrail or the doorbell, because those would be high touch.”
DeMille also suggested that those who are handing out the chips and candy do so in a way that maintains the two-metre distance.
“Whether you have a table and you put the treats on the table and the kids sort of pick them up, or I’ve heard about some creative ways, a slide that you can slide (the candy) down to maintain that distance,” she said.
While not ruling out traveling from neighbourhood to neighbourhood to trick or treat, DeMille said the safest option would be to stick as close to home as possible on Halloween night.
“There are certainly some popular neighbourhoods, but there’s a risk that they’ll be too crowded,” DeMille said.
“So we would encourage people to stay within their neighbourhood and maybe avoid going to those more popular neighbourhoods or driving to some of those neighbourhoods that are more popular for their trick or treating.”
Areas like Parkdale and River Terrace annually see hundreds of children each year. Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer of health for Ontario, earlier this week also discouraged people from leaving their own neighbourhoods to trick or treat, while discouraging it in four of the hardest hit areas of the province.
It’s a little unrealistic in parts of Thunder Bay.
“If you do go, maintain the basic rules,” DeMille said.
DeMille said the odds of an outbreak associated with the annual candy grab are slim.
“Honestly, going up somebody’s doorstep and receiving treats, an interaction that may take 30 seconds at most, when people are wearing a mask, is not enough to transmit the virus. I wouldn’t anticipate an outbreak,” she said.
“Where I’m more concerned when it comes to Halloween, I would much rather people be outside than people be inside. I’m a bit concerned people might be doing some fun activities inside their home, where if somebody has COVID it would be much more likely to spread.”
DeMille reminded the public that hosting indoor gatherings of more than 10 people is against the law. Anyone caught hosting a gathering above that limit can be fined $10,000 and attendees can face fines of $750 apiece.
