Public Protection Partnership Press Release – 16th October 2020
Halloween ‘COVID Safe’ Pumpkin Trail
With COVID making everyone rethink many aspects of our lives then Halloween this year is no different. The current advice is to forego the tradition of ‘trick or treating’ and instead go on a local ‘pumpkin trail’. See previous PPP advice here.
Halloween Safe ‘Pumpkin trail’
- Children can still take out their ‘collection bag’ for sweets, but rather than ‘trick or treating’ and knocking on doors take along your own sweets, each time you see a house with a pumpkin or Halloween decorations give your child a sweet
- Please don’t leave sweets outside your house for children to collect
- Please don’t knock on doors to ‘trick or treat’ – see ‘note’ here and below. You may want to print this out and put on your door as polite reminder
- Where possible go on your pumpkin trail in your own household group or support bubble, if you do want to meet up with another household remember the rule of 6 (which includes children) and you must still abide by social distancing rules
- Wash your hands before you leave home, take some hand sanitizer with you, and wash your hands again once you return home
Please also consider the following advice:
- If you’re buying Halloween costumes, or still have some old ones, then make sure they’re safe and have a CE mark on the label
- As with all clothing, Halloween and fancy dress outfits should always be kept away from fire, lit candles and other naked flames.
- Consider using battery operated candles inside your pumpkins rather than actual candles and tea lights
- When walking outside, especially when its dark, children should always be supervised by a suitable adult
- Ensure children can be seen in the dark; ideally they should wear something reflective such as a reflective strip, and carry a torch
- Please be aware that pavements may be busy on Halloween with many families out, this coupled with social distancing means more care needs to be taken near roads. The pavements may not be wide and may be busy so please take care.
