Officials weigh risks of trick or treating as Halloween approaches

It's the time of year when store shelves are lined with candy, pumpkin lanterns and creepy costumes. But with Halloween a month and a half away, and the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, public health officials and political leaders are considering what celebrations could look like this year, and if traditions like trick-or-treating should go ahead. 

"We are giving lots of thought to this. It's at the forefront of many parents' questions now," said Brenna Eastick, program manager of school health and behaviour change with Public Health Sudbury and Districts. 

Eastick says it's "difficult to predict" what Halloween will look like, and what the exact public health messaging will be, as a lot can change in seven weeks. 

"As October 31 approaches we'll be looking at any provincial direction and we'll be considering the local context of COVID."

'Cancelling Halloween'

Last week, Premier Doug Ford said he was "nervous" about the idea of kids going out trick-or-treating on Halloween. He made those comments the same day the city of North Bay announced that a popular Halloween event had been cancelled. 

While he doesn't know for sure what the official messaging will be around trick-or-treating, Mayor Al McDonald says he has concerns with people going door to door, and multiple people handling candy. 

"I don't know how difficult it would be to you know throw the candy six, you know the six feet, because they can't get within that distance," McDonald said. 

McDonald says discussions around cancelling events, and possibly asking people not to participate in trick-or-treating aren't fun. 

"You don't want to be known as cancelling Halloween." But, he said, "at the end of the day, you know there will always be future Halloweens."