By Madhri Yehiya
Halloween usually means parties and celebrations with friends, however public health precautions against a highly transmissible virus means students will need to adjust their plans this year to celebrate safely.
Laura Corlin, an assistant public health and community medicine professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, said students must maintain proper COVID-19 safety measures to keep from contributing to any potential spike in cases this Halloween.
“All the same rules apply as any other day,” she said. “You want to have adequate ventilation, adequate spacing. Masks are really important.”
Students can celebrate freely at home with members of their household, Corlin said, but should avoid maskless gatherings with others.
Corlin said students should find safe ways to celebrate, such as hosting Zoom costume parties or setting up Halloween-themed snacks and decorations.
Those wearing costumes that already incorporate masks, Corlin said, should wear their regular face mask underneath it as well.
“If a costume mask really does fully cover your nose and mouth and is tight enough that it’s basically built like a normal mask, then it’s probably fine,” Corlin said. “But if there’s any doubt about a costume mask, I would just wear a normal mask in addition.”
Paul Beninger, an associate public health and community medicine professor at TUSM, said Halloween activities are on a “spectrum of risk,” and that spending time with household members is one of the safest options.
“You’re sitting down and relaxing and yet, you’re in a semi-bubble,” Beninger said. “There’s still a finite risk, but it’s a manageable risk.”
For children, Beninger said hiding Halloween candy in containers for them to find around the house is a safer alternative to trick-or-treating.
He said high-contact surfaces, such as doorbells and candy bowls, make trick-or-treating high risk.
“Everybody’s putting their hand into the same basket,” Beninger said. “If anybody’s positive, this is going to contaminate the entire bowl, and then they’re going to go door to door.”
Melena Rodriguez, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said though her friends attended a party for Halloween last year, she hopes students will follow state guidelines against gatherings this year.
“We’re probably just going to get dressed up for ourselves and watch a movie,” Rodrigeuz said. “Absolutely no big group or anything. We’ll be very mad if people have parties or something. That’ll be ridiculous.”
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