Halloween cosplay and costume party celebrations amid Covid-19: In sync with CDC guidelines


Halloween is one of the most celebrated festivities across the globe especially in the U.S. As the day of Halloween nears, many of you might be thinking whether to celebrate it or not. Some of you may even be gearing up for the celebrations.

Although a small gathering for celebrations is pretty much allowed, the CDC has released a full set of guidelines during the upcoming celebrations.
The guidelines are very thorough and explains almost everything about the upcoming holiday celebrations.

Let’s check out without further ado. This blogpost is divided into many parts according to the CDC guidelines.
Firstly, we’ll check out what are the risks of virus spread and infection during halloween celebrations.  It’s worth notable that virtually celebrations and those within the household pose a much lower level of risk.

In the later part, we’ll check out precautionary tips from CDC before, while and after hosting/attending the holiday celebrations.
1. The following parameters according to the CDC can add to the spread of the infection during a holiday celebration. Both event organisers and attendees should consider these parameters  gathering for upcoming celebrations before organizing or attending any gathering for upcoming celebrations.



Community Spread:





Instances of community spread in the area in which the gathering is organized as well as the area from where the attendees are coming can both add to high chances of Covid-19 infection.
Event organisers and attendees should consider the no .of cases in the area they’re going to organize or attend the event. The CDC suggests, you can get the area wise  COVID-19 no.of cases inforntations from the health department. Website.

Location and duration of gathering:

Both location and duration of the gathering can affect the rate of infection spread. Indoor gatherings and poorly ventilated areas posesa higher risk of infection when compared to outdoor gatherings. Similarly, gatherings of longer duration pose a higher risk of infection. Gatherings should be kept as short as possible and in outdoor area or at least well-ventilated indoor area if not possible otherwise.

Number of people attending the gathering:

Again gatherings with larger number of attendees pose a higher risk than gatherings with lesser number of attendees. Although CDC doesn’t have any recommended no. of attendees or a limit on them, it’s wise to keep it as limited as possible also adoring to the local, state or national regulations in place.

Locations from which attendees are coming from:

Attendees from. A different area pose higher level of risk than attendees attending from the local area. Also, if the location from which the attendees are coming from have high rate of infection or instances of community spread, it could carries a much higher level of risk.

Behaviour of attendees before attending and during the gathering:

Attendees who do not strictly follow preventive measures such a washing hands, wearing masks and social distancing both  before attending and during the gathering, pose higher risk than those who follow these preventive measures.

People who should not attend in-person holiday celebrations:

People with or exposed to COVID-19 Has been tested positive for COVID-19 and has not yet met the criteria  as to when its safe to be around others Has symptoms of COVID_19 Is waiting for COVID-19 gets results May have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in last 14 days Is at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 such as heart patients, diabetic people, etc.



General considerations  for the celebration



Holiday celebrations at times of pandemic needs to be carefully planned and thoughtfully carried on. Any small carelessness could even result into extremely dangerous consequences. Therefore, CDC recommends planning nd prevention, not only during the celebration but before and after also.

Before you celebrate

It’s important to plan and prevent before hosting a celebration. Following tips from CDC will help you organize a safer holiday celebration: Host outdoor activities rather than indoor activities. If hosting an outdoor activity is not possible, avoid fully enclosed and overly crowded space, rather choose well-ventilated space for the event.

Host the event with limited number of people and from the local area only as much as possible. Provide updated information about COVID-19 guidelines to all the attendees and encourage them to bring their own safety supplies such as masks, sanitiser, etc. Do not exchange masks last any cost. If the attendees are out of  your household, you may even consider asking them to strictly avoid contact with people outside of their household for 14 days before the household.
 

Attending

While others might be organising the event, you may be on the attendee’s list.  You too need to follow a few considerations By CDC before attending any in-person gathering at the time of this pandemic. Ask the host about the updated COVID-19 safety guidelines and if they have all the precautions in place to prevent the spread of virus.
Bring your wn safety supplies such as masks and sanitisers.   Do not share masks with anyone else.



Outdoor activities pose lesser risk than indoor activities. If you’re attending indoor activities as part of your gathering, avoid poorly ventilated and fully enclosed spaces. 
You may also consider avoiding complete contact with people outside of your household 14 days before the event.




Holiday travel



You may also need to travel for attending the holiday celebrations. Kindly remember travel increases the risk of virus spread. If it is really important to travel and you decide to,  you will have to take these safety measures to protect yourself and others:

Wear a mask in public to keep your mouth and nose covered
Stay away from people ( 6 feet apart) from anyone who is not from your household
Wash your hands with soap and water frequently for at least 20 seconds or use hand santitrzer with at least 60% alcohol.
Avoid contact with anyone who is sick
Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes.


During the celebration:


Following these tips from CDC can help you reduce the risk of being exposed to, getting, or spreading COVID-19 during the celebration:

These are divided into four main parts:



Social distancing and limiting close contact:



Maintain a distance of 6 feet from people outside of your household especially in compact spaces like restrooms and eating areas.
Avoid using restroom at peak tines where chance sof more people using it are high such as after the end of the event.
Replace gestures requiring close contact  (such as handshakes and hugs) with waves and verbal greetings.


Wear masks:

Wera masks at all times during the celebration especially around people out of your household.
Avoid activities like singing, chanting, shouting when not wearing a mask or when within 6 feet of people.
PPS: Do not replace your cloth mask with the costume mask unless it isn’t made  of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers both your nose and mouth and doesn’t leave gaps around your face.

Do not wear a costume mask over a cloth mask as it could impact breathability. Instead, use a halloween-theme cloth mask.


Wash hands:



Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. (Especially after bed g in  a public place or sneezing or coughing.  If soap and water is not ready available at the event location, use hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol. Limiting contact with commonly touched surfaces or shared items.  Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces or any shared items in between with EPA approved disinfectant.
Its better to use touches garbage cans if available.  Using gloves is safer while removing garbage or handling and disposing trash. Kindly wash your hands after removing gloves.

Keeping safe around food and drinks:

While it’s not scientifically proven that handling r eating food can directly spread COVID-19 but it is possible that person can get exposed to it by touching surfaces and objects like utensils, food stuff, food packaging etc. therefore, it’s better to take extra precaution while handling and eating food especially when its at a  celebration gathering. These tips from CDC will almost cover everything you need to be careful about handling and eating food in a holiday gathering.

Make sure everyone ta the event, washes their hands for 20 seconds with soap and water before and after preparing , serving and eating food. If soap and water is not available, 60% alcohol  content hand sanitiser  can be used. Encourage people bringing their own food and drinks for themselves and their household members only. Limit people going in and out of the place where food is being prepared. Ask those preparing/serving  food to wear mask during the process.

Avoid self-serve food or drink options such as buffets, potlucks, salad bars, drink stations, etc. Instead use single-use options or choose one person to serve shared items like salads, condiments etc. Also, while serving food, let one person serve all the food rather than multiple people handling the serving utensils. If any re-usable items are being used such as tablecloths, seating covers, linen napkins, etc, wash and disinfect them after the event.

Lastly, go for healthy food and beverage options such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, no-calorie bevarages  at the holiday gathering to help maintain good health and encourage healthy eating.

After the celebrations:

If you participated in higher risk activities or think that you may have been exposed  to COVID-19, kindly take extra precautions apart from those listed above for 14 days.
You may need to :
Stay at home as much as possibleAvoid being around people with increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19
Avoid being around people with increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19

Consider getting tested for COVID-19



Final words

These tips are from the CDC which is a nation-level Institute for control of diseases. Please go through all the information thoroughly. Following all of them religiously will help you limit spread of the disease and risk of infection. However, the CDC disclaims that these tips are not substitute for any local, territorial, state or national level COVID-19 regulations from the government.