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Doctors encourage families, kids to enjoy Halloween with COVID safety protocols in place

Health officials are encouraging parents to allow their kids to enjoy trick or treating.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Halloween is this Sunday, and health officials are encouraging parents to allow their kids to enjoy trick or treating.

At the same time, they are telling families to remember to be COVID-safe. It will be the first time in almost two years kids can dress up and hit the streets for trick or treating, hoping to fill their baskets with goodies. 

Dr. Matthew Sims, an infectious disease expert at Beaumont Health, said that although kids will be outdoors collecting the candy, there is still a risk of getting COVID.

There are a few things parents can do to ensure their children are safe this spooky season.

"I would still recommend wearing masks, and on Halloween, you expect to wear masks," Dr. Sims said. "The other thing I would recommend just in general, you're going to be handling stuff other people handled, touching door knobs and touching door bells people have been touching. Carrying some alcohol based hand sanitizer and using it frequently is probably a good idea."

Dr. Sims added over the next couple of months, families will travel and come together for the holidays, and he said it is best to continue practicing the safety protocols doctors have been saying since the start of the pandemic: wash your hands, wear a mask and stay six feet apart.

Dr. Sims also said getting vaccinated is still the best way to protect yourself. He expects young kids will be eligible in the coming weeks after the vaccines are approved for children ages five to 11.

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