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Dear Premier,
HELP MAKE HALLOWEEN SAFE: ISSUE GUIDELINES NOW
Halloween is 30 days away. As the number of Covid cases have increased in many provinces and territories, we understand the additional measures promulgated to limit the spread of the virus for the month of October and the cautiousness toward Halloween. However, we think it is in the best interest of all if guidelines are issued NOW outlining how people can celebrate Halloween while respecting social distancing.
Halloween in 2020 falls on a Saturday and will be illuminated by a blue full moon which occurs only 3 or 4 times each century. The full moon will be visible from all locations around the globe, making this Halloween indeed a rare occasion. The last time a full moon on Halloween was visible throughout most of the planet was in 1944. In North America, the next full moon occurring on the 31st of October will be in 2039 and 2058.
While health measures are imperative, the impact that these measures on mental health is also an important consequence that you already consider in your appraisal. Halloween celebration is dear to many and allows a healthy escape from the stresses of daily life. Particularly during Covid, with health concerns, financial worries and anxiety associated with limited social contacts adding considerable stresses to the life of many people, having a break – even for just a day – can be a breath of fresh air so needed so we can all go through the remainder of 2020.
We enclose suggestions that we have researched and brainstormed on measures that can help all of us celebrate Halloween safely and respecting social distancing. These includes ways to amend some of the Halloween activities with contact to make them safer, particularly Trick or Treat; outlining many Halloween activities that pose NO risk; and proposing new activities appropriate for Covid circumstances.
As Halloween is just over 4 weeks away, it is vital that you provide clearer guidelines early on, even if these guidelines may need adjustments as the situation evolves. Delaying these announcements to gather more data on the outbreak while it seems sensible from your point of view may inadvertently have an adverse impact, as frantic last-minute Halloween shopping may increase the risks of virus spread.
For the parents not knowing how to plan the holiday and not being able to answer probably incessant children’s questions whether they will be permitted to celebrate Halloween can also lead to increased anxiety for kids and parents alike. Providing guidelines on how we can celebrate Halloween will limit the uncertainty around this celebration, reduce one more stress and thus will be for the best interest of all. If I may add, it will be welcome if the emphasis is put on what we Can DO and not letting what we CAN NOT DO carry the day as often happens in these announcement, thus trying to pivot the discussion to a more positive note.
Lastly, we are not insensitive to the weight of carrying out these decisions in the best interest of the public, and we do thank you for your public service. If we can assist in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Faten hodroge
Faten Hodroge (Ms)
President, Oya Costumes
Montreal, Canada
Tel: 514-935-3242
Email: info@oyacostumes.com
NB. Oya Costumes is an online Halloween company, founded in 2003 online, based in Montreal and proudly Canadian. We operated a bilingual website since our inception. Our client base is spread across all provinces and territories, with Quebec customer base representing some 35% of the total. Thus, we have taken the liberty to send this letter to all the Premiers as our customer base is national.
CC. Canadian Public Media
Proposed measures to celebrate Halloween safely
& Respecting Social Distancing
Amend Halloween Activities Affected by Covid
Amended Trick or Treat: For a start, Trick or Treat activity is an activity done outside which is a huge relief and many kids will happily wear a matching mask and gloves to complete their costume look. Covid masks matching the costume theme are freely available now in the market for kids and adults.
For the most part, in the suburbs and rural municipalities Trick or Treating is done with limited contact among children. This year we should further encourage people to avoid contact in the street, which is already happening as people walk on the sidewalks and avoiding passers by.
Trick or Treat can pose problems on certain streets in large urban areas where crowds can congregate, and some households provide candy bags to many kids. Measures we outlined below could be recommended to address these challenges:
a- Encourage no contact during the exchange of candy: Household can place a table in the driveway at a 3 or 4 metre distance from the front door, for example. Household can put pre-prepared candy bags on the table. Kids can come by, still showcase their costumes while household owners watch from a safe distance as the kids can pick up a candy bag with zero contact.
b- Recommend people trick or treat only on their street: Often congestion occurs when people converge on other streets drawn to homes with impressive Halloween decorations or streets close to large apartment buildings. This year it can be recommended that people Trick or Treat ONLY on their own street, or just one street adjacent. People living in apartment buildings can organizing their Trick or Treat in the front yard or the outdoor parking area of their building and not be travelling to adjacent streets.
c- Recommend different hours for various groups: To reduce large crowds’ Trick or Treating at the same time, recommendations could be made for example to encourage kids of different ages Trick or Treat at different time. For example, children from age 3-6 can Trick or Treat at 5:30pm; children age 7-9 at 6:30pm; and children age 10-12 at 7:30pm.
d- Recommend a limit on the number of households that children should visit: For example, households in designated red zone areas could be limited to a maximum of 10 households visit, orange zones 15 households limit, and so on.
e- Encourage all households to prepare treat bags 2 days ahead of time: Even though contagion is unlikely to spread by objects, this would not hurt and households can be encouraged to carefully disinfect their hand or wear gloves while preparing the treat bags. I am sure many households would be happy to place a bottle of disinfectant on the candy table for the kids to clean their hand at various time during the night as well.
f- Recommend households giving away candy to limit the number of treat bags they prepare: for example, households should plan not to give away more than 10-15 bags over a 1-hour period. No household should prepare hundreds of treat bags. Even if older kids decide to carry one, they will not be able to carry on the activity for long.
Costume Dress up Competitions at School: In previous year, many schools organized costume competitions which involved a general assembly of entire school body. Declaring all costume competitions at school are completely banned at school will unnecessarily deprived school children of a fun traditional activities. Since general assemblies and large gatherings are totally discouraged, schools could replace this with smaller competitions hosted in the classrooms by the home room teacher. These would not increase contact at all but could still generate many moments of joy and laughter and allow a normalcy to kids’ life.
Limited gatherings and celebration for young adults: While clubbing and large gathering are definitely out of question this year, small gatherings for young adults could be considered depending on the area and the extend of Covid spread in particular areas. One sense a growing frustration among young adults, particularly as couple of years younger in high school, students are allowed to go to school and socialize with their friends daily – sometimes without masks - while they are prohibited from attending College or University or see their friends. Banning all celebrations will encourage a move to clandestine indoor gatherings away from view; it maybe more advantageous to provide guidelines for this age group to allow them to safely enjoy a Halloween celebration. As this Halloween will take place on a Saturday with a full moon, and provided the weather cooperates, perhaps outdoor gatherings of 4 to 6 young adults, in a park or public space, while still wearing a mask and keeping a safe distance, could be considered. Municipalities could consider lifting restrictions on outdoor music in the park for the night of Halloween until 11pm so young adults can celebrate from 9-11pm.
Amended haunted house: Traditional haunted house indoor is a high-risk activity. However, an outside walk in a haunted forest or park, decorated with Halloween props where people adhere to a 6-meter distance can be as just as fun with limited risk to the spread of the virus. Municipalities and towns who usually organise indoor haunted houses could be encouraged to consider an outdoor version this year in their own parks.
Activities not Affected by Covid
While for many, Trick or Treating is the main idea behind Halloween, Halloween is far more than that. Keep this in mind so that the emphasis does not become on what we are not allowed to do, but instead emphasize what we can do and enjoy.
Pumpkin Carving: Many young parents have fond memories of pumpkin carving with the family, a fun creative activity that entails no contact with outside the family. This Halloween falls on a Saturday allowing families plenty of time to indulge in creative pumpkin carving.
Yard decoration: This is another activity that is an integra part of celebrating this holiday and involves absolutely no contact outside the household. Again, with a Saturday celebration, and a limit on socialization, families can happily spend time together creating and putting up Halloween decorations.
Costume Dressing at School: Most school encourage kids to wear their costume to school on Halloween day or the day before if it falls on the weekend. For kids to wear their costume to the classroom will entail no increase in contact among kids. This will bring many moments of joy and laughter for the kids.
Alternative ways for Halloween Celebrations
Zoom Parties: Online get togethers and parties have been the trend for some time now and more online activities should be encouraged. For example, we are seeking to organize a Halloween Zoom celebration for Oya customers and friends and providing prizes for best costumes in the categories for kids, families, and adults, although we are in the business of running parties. Many artists and event organiser have been greatly affected by this pandemic. You could encourage towns and cities to get in on the act and help promote such events; they could allocate some funding from their cultural budget events and encourage artists to get involved and organize online Halloween events. That way, even areas in the designated Red Zones have an outlet to celebrate Halloween.
Online Yard Decor Competition: Many municipalities organize various activities on Halloween such as Yard decorating competitions. Municipalities could modify the format of these events instead of cancelling them altogether. Each household can upload pictures of their household and the entire neighbourhood could have access online to witness all the different decorations. Kids and family dressed up could be included in these pictures as well. These are easy to organize and municipalities that have not done similar competition in the past could give these a try online.
