St. Louis County COVID-19 Update

St. Louis County Department of Public Health: Halloween Safety Advice

Wondering how you can celebrate Halloween safely during a COVID-19 pandemic? 

Although COVID-19 doesn’t take a holiday, it’s still possible to have fun on Halloween. To help residents assess the risk of Halloween-related activities, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health has produced the following chart. GREEN events are considered safe, YELLOW means use caution, and RED means high risk.

• GREEN  (low-risk activities): Home decorating; pumpkin-carving at home; putting on a candy scavenger hunt on your property for family members; watching Halloween movies or playing online games virtually with friends; putting on virtual costume parties (award a prize for best costume!); hosting virtual family get-togethers; leaving individual portions of wrapped candy outside.​

• YELLOW (activities with risk): Small group gatherings outdoors, with participants socially distanced and wearing masks; outdoor mazes, with socially distanced and masked participants (avoid screaming, as it can easily spread the coronavirus);  drive-through trunk-or-treat events; leaving individual portions of candy on a porch or table outside for passers-by.

• RED (high-risk activities): any indoor gathering; large outdoor gatherings; traditional, door-to-door trick-or-treating; celebrating in restaurants or bars that don’t provide for sufficient social distancing; public haunted houses.

It’s important to note that any large, public event, including block parties, haunted houses and other holiday gatherings, MUST submit a safety plan to DPH and have it approved before opening. Email now to: business-covid@stlouisco.com 

For more ideas on how to celebrate safely, visit stlcorona.com. Finally, remember that whatever options you choose this Halloween: Stay at least six feet away from others; wear a cloth or surgical face mask when in public (a costume mask is not enough); wash your hands frequently; avoid screaming around others; and HAVE FUN.