Is Trick-Or-Treating Canceled This Year? Inside Los Angeles County's Halloween Ban

Halloween 2020 is near, but the residents of Los Angeles County will not be able to participate in traditional trick-or-treating this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a statement about the Halloween festivities, saying, “Since some of the traditional ways in which this holiday is celebrated does not allow you to minimize contact with nonhousehold members, it is important to plan early and identify safer alternatives.”

Celebration activities that are not permitted this year include door-to-door trick-or-treating because it can be difficult to maintain social distancing in neighborhoods, and trunk or treating, where children go from car-to-car to receive treats, the agency said.

The health department has also banned gatherings or parties with nonhousehold members, even if they are conducted outdoors. Carnivals, festivals, live entertainment, and haunted houses will also not be permitted during the upcoming Halloween season, according to the county’s Department of Public Health.

The county's list of acceptable alternative celebration ideas includes online parties or contests and car parades, as long as they comply with public health guidelines. These can include drive-by events or contests, where costumes or vehicles are judged by socially-distanced participants, drive-throughs of Halloween displays, as long as passengers remain in the vehicle, and drive-in events were a treat bag is presented from an organizer while participants remain in their vehicle.

The health department also suggests attending a Halloween movie night at a drive-in theater or having a Halloween-themed meal at an outdoor restaurant. Halloween-inspired art installations are also an option at outdoor museums, along with decorating homes and yards with decor to celebrate the season.

The Halloween announcement comes after Los Angeles County has reported over 249,000 positive cases of the coronavirus, with over 6,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.