Halloween is a day that many look forward to, especially kids as they wait to go door to door with their bags or buckets to trick-or-treat. October 31 is going to look different this year though, because parents and homeowners will need to decide if they are going to participate in trick-or-treating or not in a season contaminated by Covid-19 on every level.

Sophomore Kathryn Bergin and her younger sibling will be going trick-or-treating this year, and she urges people to be self-aware before going out on the big night.

“If kids are sick, they should stay home,” she said. “They need to wear a mask and consider if they are comfortable with being so close to others they don’t know.”

Precautions are necessary to protect everyone from possible COVID-19 exposure and critical to stopping further infections on Halloween.

“People need to be cautious because of how often and how many different people you would be in contact with,” Bergin said.

Sophomore Maria Valero believes that individuals should stay at home this year.

“I think that kids should probably just stay home because the COVID-19 situation is obviously not getting better,” she said. “I don’t think trick-or-treating will help anything.”

Even though the festivities might not be especially dangerous to the kids who run gleefully up and down the street, Bergin knows that following recommended precautions isn’t just about protecting children, but it’s about protecting people with pre-existing health conditions too.

“I feel like people really need to have a reality check and stay home and wear a mask whenever indoors in a public space,” she said. “They need to realize that although it may not kill them, it can kill the ones they love like grandparents, young cousins, or a friend with a health condition.”

Even though health teacher Wayne Gerharz doesn’t have kids who trick-or-treat anymore, he still hopes that partakers will follow the state-mandated guidelines, social distance, and wear masks.

“Stay with a small group and social distance,” he said. “I don’t know how homes are going to do it or if they’re going to have a basket that trick-or-treaters could pick candy out of. I would hope that people would have pre-made baggies that families put together so kids’ hands aren’t all over it but that takes a little bit of work on the homeowner’s side too.”

Registered West and Tipler/ALPs nurse Stefanie Rebholz has advice for how kids can stay as safe as possible during this time when proper measures concerning hygiene are necessary.

“Try not to come in contact with the person that’s handing out the candy,” she said. “Try to do the individual things, setting the bowl out, if that’s the route you want to go. The kids that are doing trick-or-treating to be sure that they are washing their hands before they eat anything.”

Rebholz’s thoughts were similar to Gerharz when it came to homeowners distributing candy. She mentioned creative ways to safely enjoy the trick-or-treating season.

“Try to come up with a more creative way to hand out your candy,” Rebholz said. “I’ve seen the candy shoots that look kind of fun, I’ve heard other people say they’re making up individual bags and just setting those up for kids to grab and go.”

Sophomore Corinn Lichwald has a younger sibling who will be trick-or-treating this Halloween. She doesn’t see a major problem with kids going out, as long as precautions are taken.

“It’s everyone’s own choice if they want to trick-or-treat,” she said. “Just be safe and wear a mask.”

Masks on Halloween is not a new concept, but not just any mask will do; Gerharz reminds kids to still make sure they are wearing effective face coverings that will protect them and others.

“Wear a good actual mask, not a mask that’s on a Halloween costume, one that we normally wear,” he said. “We’re so used to wearing masks now and masks are such a big part of Halloween anyway as part of costumes. That’s gonna help with the spraying of any particles in the air.”

Trick-or-treaters and homeowners should try to stay as safe as possible, especially during the holidays when more people are out and about. Gerharz predicts that there could be an increase in cases, which he fears could interfere with the return to in-person learning.

“Before you know it it’s going to be Christmas time,” he said. “Around labor day, memorial day, July 4th, you’ve seen a big increase when the weather was warm. We’ve got to knock these numbers down because teachers want to have students back face to face, and it’s going to take a whole community effort.”

Rebholz agrees.

“If you are having large gatherings with lots of people where there’s not going to be social distancing and there’s not going to be masks, those things do cause the spread of COVID-19,” Rebholz said. “That’s something that we really need to avoid, especially right now, considering how busy our hospital systems are.”

Jennifer Kettner, a supervisor of patient access at Mercy Hospital and a parent of a West student, has experienced firsthand the overcrowding at hospitals. But even though things might feel gloomy, she lists some activities people can still enjoy on Halloween besides trick-or-treating.

“I recommend watching Halloween movies at home with family, carving pumpkins, driving around looking at Halloween decorations, or having a bonfire with family telling ghost stories,” Kettner said. “You could have homemade Halloween contests.”

Contests are a great way to get involved at school, and Gerharz believes that if people get together and compete virtually, Halloween can still be fun.

“People could still make Halloween enjoyable even if you’re not physically with people necessarily, but you’re still emotionally with them,” he said. “I know Mrs. Morrill in the media center is having a pumpkin contest and a costume contest to try to build some rapport with the students and staff since we’re not in the building.”

The idea of virtual trick-or-treating and events, in general, is getting thrown around quite a bit.

“People could dress up and have a virtual Halloween with friends or other family members over FaceTime or Zoom, ” Bergin said.

Collecting candy from neighbors isn’t the only thing that will be missed this Halloween. There are usually a variety of other events that occur on the 31st, as Gerharz points out.

“There’s a history of trick-or-treating,” he said, “There’s always neighborhood get-togethers, family get-togethers, all the things you have to be very careful about now with getting groups of people together.”

Trick-or-treating is a tradition going back decades, and in many cases, a fond memory of childhood. Some may be saddened to see fewer kids running from house to house this Halloween, but as Gerharz stresses, safety must come first and that is more important than ever now.

“Maybe this is the year to do trick-or-treating virtual, and take some nice pictures,” he said. “With young kids, I know it’s a tradition and that’s tough for parents with young kids. You’ve just got to make decisions that are best for the family.”

By Meghan Oakes

Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue II

October 30th, 2020

Trick-or-Treat? Can I get some COVID-19?