Worcester Asks Residents Not To Go Trick-Or-Treating Door-To-Door This Year
WORCESTER (CBS/AP) -- The city of Worcester, Massachusetts, has asked people to not go trick-or-treating door-to-door this Halloween.
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports the decision was reached because of the city's designation as being at higher risk for transmission of the coronavirus combined with guidance from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
City officials recommend socially-distanced pumpkin carving, a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of items to look for while admiring house decorations from afar; having a small, open-air costume parade; and holding a virtual Halloween costume contest. These recommendations are considered low risk by the CDC.
Activities like door-to-door trick-or-treating, attending crowded, indoor costume parties, indoor haunted houses, hayrides with strangers, and trunk-or-treat with cars in a parking lot are all high-risk, according to the CDC.
Meanwhile, in Manchester, N.H., trick-or-treating has received the go-ahead by the city from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with proper precautions like mask-wearing and social distancing.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)