L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti: ‘Trick-or-treating Is Not Recommended’ on Halloween

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, speaks to the g
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
Joel B. Pollak

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has reminded residents of his city that “trick-or-treating” on Halloween is “not recommended” this year because of the danger of spreading the coronavirus through contact with other people.

As Breitbart News reported last month, Los Angeles County health officials initially tried banning trick-or-treating altogether.

Instead, they issued the following guidelines (original emphasis):

Halloween Activities:

Not Permitted (gatherings and events are not currently allowed under the Health Officer Order)

  • Halloween gatherings, events or parties with non-household members are not permitted even if they are conducted outdoors.
  • Carnivals, festivals, live entertainment, and haunted house attractions are not allowed.

Not Recommended

  • Door to door trick or treating is not recommended because it can be very difficult to maintain proper social distancing on porches and at front doors, ensure that everyone answering or coming to the door is appropriately masked to prevent disease spread, and because sharing food is risky.
  • “Trunk or treating” where children go from car to car instead of door to door to receive treats is also not recommended, particularly when part of Halloween events, since it is difficult to avoid crowding and sharing food.

Permitted and Recommended

  • Online parties/contests (e.g. costume or pumpkin carving)
  • Car parades that comply with public health guidance for vehicle based parades including:
    1. Drive by events or contests where individuals dress up or decorate their vehicles and drive by “judges” that are appropriately physically distanced.
    2. Drive through events where individuals remain in their vehicles and drive through an area with Halloween displays.
    3. Drive in events where individuals can receive a treat bag (limited to commercially packaged non-perishable treats) or take away item from an organizer while the participants remain in their vehicle.
  • Halloween movie nights at drive in theaters (must comply with the public health drive in movie theater guidance).
  • Halloween themed meals at outdoor restaurants (must comply with the restaurant protocol).
  • Halloween themed art installations at an outdoor museum (must comply with the public health museum guidance.)
  • Dressing up homes and yards with Halloween themed decorations.

Most health experts agree that the risk of transmitting coronavirus outdoors, while masked and socially distant, is significantly diminished, though there may be additional risks in distributing food or candies.

L.A. Conuty recently reported an uptick in coronavirus transmission, largely due to workplace outbreaks.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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