AUSTIN, Texas — Austin health officials are asking families to take precautions as the holiday season approaches amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While many families are making plans for Halloween and holiday gatherings, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said this holiday season will look different.
“I think we’ve got to understand that, again, this disease has not gone away,” Dr. Escott said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Dr. Escott warned that over the past eight months, there have been families devastated by COVID-19 across the U.S. because they had a gathering.
“Maybe it’s a birthday party. Maybe it’s a celebration for a holiday. Maybe it’s a baby shower. That has resulted in multiple family members hospitalized and multiple families dying from COVID-19,” he said.
The advice from Austin Public Health (APH) for this holiday season is to continue social distancing and avoid family gatherings.
“I think to show love for our family this year, we have to do distancing,” said Dr. Escott. “We have to have distance celebrations or celebrations right now that involve members of our household – and that’s it.”
According to CDC guidance, traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating and many traditional Halloween activities, are what it considers "high risk" for spreading the virus.
While APH has echoed that advice, some Halloween activities may be OK if Austin-Travis County enters Stage 2.
“It is hard to predict what the spread of COVID-19 will look like by Oct. 31,” APH told KVUE last month. “Right now, Austin-Travis County is in Stage 3 of the Austin Public Health risk-based guidelines, which provide recommendations for personal behavior. In Stage 3, individuals should avoid all social gatherings, which would include gatherings outside of your household such as going door-to-door for Halloween. However, if our community continues to practice preventative actions such as masking, social distancing, avoiding gatherings and practicing proper hygiene, we may be in a better place by Oct. 31, and in Stage 1 or 2 of our Risk-Based Guidelines, which allow for some small social gatherings.”
The CDC lists the following activities as "low risk."
- Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
- Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
- Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
- Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
- Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
- Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
- Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house
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