WATERLOO –
Waterloo, Iowa. The City of Waterloo is following guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and is asking residents to not participate in traditional trick or treat activities this year. CDC guidelines state the following activities are not recommended, and are considered high risk activities:
- Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
- Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots
- Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
- Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
- Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
This year, we are encouraging residents to CELEBRATE a COVID-19 HALLOWEEN CREATIVELY and here are a few helpful ideas to keep you and others extra safe while still celebrating Halloween:
- Make treat bags and hang them from streamers outside for kids to grab;
- Have a Halloween movie night with household members either at home or drive-in;
- Do reverse trick-or-treat by dropping off small gift bags on your neighbor’s porch;
- Put on a trunk-or-treat on your street (Halloween decorated car trunks) with socially distanced parked cars in driveways;
- Coordinate a contact-free neighborhood scavenger hunt;
- Host a virtual Halloween “watch” party with online video/chat and have best costume or craft project contests
Halloween activities will take place in Waterloo on October 31, 2020 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
CEDAR FALLS –
Trick-or-treat hours will take place in Cedar Falls on October 31, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to
8:00 p.m.
If citizens do not wish to participate in trick-or-treat, please leave your front light off. Trick-or-treaters
should not visit homes that do not have their front light on.
As the nation continues to work through the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC has advised the public not to
participate in certain traditional Halloween activities including trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treating, indoor
parties or haunted houses.
If you will be out trick-or-treating this Halloween, the City of Cedar Falls and the Black Hawk County
Health Department recommends these safety guidelines to help prevent the spread of the virus:
– Place individually wrapped items for ‘grab and go’ at a location that allows for social distancing
(such as the end of the driveway)
– Do not hand out any candy or items directly to trick or treaters
– Do not leave bowls of items out for trick-or-treaters or offer the same bowl of items to
multiple people
– The CDC recommends the use of a mask for individuals over the age of two, including outdoors,
when social distancing is not possible
– Masks should be worn properly with the nose, mouth and chin covered
– Only go out with members of your household
– Avoid crowds and allow others to go before you at a distance when trick-or-treating
– It is advisable to bring hand sanitizer when you are out trick-or-treating and use it often
