As Halloween creeps closer, NSW Health is offering trick or treaters some advice on staying safe from COVID-19, which is still lurking in the shadows.

Executive Director of NSW Health Protection, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said as long as levels of community transmission remain low, NSW Health is supportive of Halloween celebrations going ahead.

“Halloween celebrations will need to be a little different this year due to COVID-19 and we are urging everyone in the community to play their part,” Dr McAnulty said.

NSW Health advises

• It should be a front-yard event, not a front-door event (keep it outdoors and have no more than 20 people on your property at any one time)
• Provide closed packaging for treats and instead of communal lolly bowls, consider other ways of distributing treats (e.g. strewn along the front fence, have hand sanitiser at the front gate)
• Trick or treat on a household basis (e.g. a supervising adult and children from the same household), rather than groups of young people together, with a maximum of 30 people gathering outside
• Maintain a 1.5-metre distance between people of different households – don’t all crowd together in a pack
• Keep it local – put effort into decorating the front yard rather than focusing on well-known “treat streets” which attract crowds Don’t share costume face masks
• Stay home if feeling unwell People isolating should not receive Halloween visitors

Practice good hand hygiene and use hand sanitiser after touching common surfaces.