Columbus’ COVID-19 Community Task Force is urging residents to avoid Halloween activities posing a high or moderate risk of spreading COVID-19, including traditional trick-or-treating, as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the state.
The city will have trick-or-treating hours of 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, said Mary Ferdon, the city’s executive director of administration and community development, who is on the task force.
“We are allowing it and we will have extra law enforcement on the streets like we typically do, but we do recognize that with the increasing numbers that the county currently has … that if people have alternatives, we are encouraging those,” Ferdon said.
On Wednesday, the task force issued a statement encouraging people not to engage in traditional residential trick-or-treating “where treats are handed out and received with close-contact,” attend indoor costume parties or gatherings where public health guidelines such as wearing masks and social distancing are not followed, among other activities.
