How safe is celebrating Halloween where you live? Map helps determine COVID-19 risks
Zoom costume parties to trick-or-treating from car trunks. This year’s Halloween celebrations will look much different than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic. But, what’s the safest way to spend the spookiest night of the year?
The answer varies depending on where you live, but thankfully there’s a new color-coded map designed by the Halloween & Costume Association and Harvard Global Health Institute to help you determine how risky certain activities may be based on coronavirus trends in your county.
The map is based on a seven-day average of daily new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in each U.S. county and then color-codes them in red, orange, yellow or green, with red being the most risky in terms of getting infected and green being the least.
All you have to do is hover over your county, see what color it is then scroll down to see what health experts suggest as safe and fun activities.
“We’re not making decisions for people,” Dr. Ingrid Katz, a Harvard infectious disease expert who helped developed the map, told USA TODAY. “People can make informed decisions themselves.”
Counties in red are advised to get creative with online festivities such as Zoom costume contests and murder mystery games with friends. Some quarantine ideas include candy scavenger hunts at home, Halloween-themed karaoke and theatrical dinners in character based on your costume.
Residents in orange- and yellow-labeled counties can participate in drive-by costume parties with candy pickups, socially distant candy scavenger hunts in the neighborhood, front yard trick-or-treating or even face mask painting parties.
“Stay safe by incorporating sanitize stations, yellow caution tape, 6 ft sidewalk stickers/tape, age group signs and more!” the website reads.
Counties in green that are considered least at risk of catching the coronavirus during cautious Halloween festivities can consider garage or trunk candy give-outs, which offer more room for social distancing than traditional walkways to front doors, and outdoor parties with “strategically spaced seating.”
“Be on the lookout for the official Safehouse certificate while trick or treating! These are the folks that will have a table or sanitized barrier to help you maintain a safe distance as you grab your goodies!” the website read. “Watch for 6-foot markers in front of homes and in driveways, that’s a great sign that those folks are going the extra mile to help keep you healthy!”
North Dakota, South Dakota and Missouri hold the top three spaces on the map with the most daily new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, meaning many counties are red or orange zones. Meanwhile, Vermont is the only state in the country ranked green, with less than 1 new case per 100,000 people.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 5:46 PM with the headline "How safe is celebrating Halloween where you live? Map helps determine COVID-19 risks."
