Halloween is only two days away and some leading health officials are making a final push to encourage you to be safe as coronavirus cases spike.
In statements on Wednesday, various professors warned that trick-or-treating is not safe this year and kids should be kept home. Others say to do your best to make it as safe as possible.
"When the children knock on the door, it becomes a really tight, confined space with the number of people there yelling 'trick-or-treat!'" said Erink Bromage, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth biology professor.
While the CDC has already classified high contact trick-or-treating as high risk, the agency says the tradition can be made safe by wearing a mask, washing hands before touching treats, avoiding direct contact with trick-or-treaters, giving treats outdoors or even setting up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take.
"I'm really proud of what they're doing in my neighborhood," said Bromage. "Everyone is setting up tables down the end of their driveway. Some people have put out big spiderwebs and they're hanging the candy from the spiderwebs so the kids are still having the trick-or-treating experience."
The CDC says a costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask. The agency says not to wear a costume mask over a cloth mask as it can make breathing more difficult.
