October 2020: Halloween & COVID-19
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Halloween is just around the corner! Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics do not recommend traditional trick-or-treating this year, families are looking at their options on how to celebrate Halloween safely. Families are getting creative and finding unique ways to get in the spooky spirit without going door-to-door. Even though Halloween looks different this year, there are plenty of ways that families can stay safe and have fun.
Alternative Activities for Halloween
Some families may still choose to participate in trick-or-treating. On top of the additional precautions they will need to take to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the traditional hazards, such as pedestrian safety, costumes, and limited visibility from costume masks still apply.
Trick-or-Treating Safety
2021 Toolkits Survey
Do you have a topic you would like us to create a toolkit on? Are there materials that we can create that can help you and your organization? We are planning our toolkit topics for the 2021 calendar year and would love to hear from you. Tell us your ideas and preferences here.
Take Action
Every month, we are promoting a new action that each family can take to keep their children safer. This month, we want every family to test the smoke alarms in their home. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends testing smoke alarms every month to make sure that it is working properly. This short video shows you how to test your smoke alarm.
Follow along every month for a new action for you to share with the families you serve.
Coming Up
On Our Twitter Calendar
Oct. 5 - 11: Fire Prevention Week
Oct. 12 - 18: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month
Oct. 19 - 25: National Teen Driver Safety Week
Oct. 26 - Nov. 1: Halloween Safety
Events
Join the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a free, two-hour exploration each day (October 6-8, 2020) to learn from leading experts including a showcase of top-notch panel discussions and innovative ideas to advance evidence-based strategies in the field of health communication, marketing, and media. The theme is “From 2020 Hindsight to 20/20 Foresight: What Have We Learned? Where Do We Go From Here?” To receive email updates and registration information for this timely and relevant health communication, marketing and media forum, click here.
Participate in National Safety Council’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month October Twitter Chat happening on October 15th at 11:00AM. The hashtag will be #JustDrive20. We are looking forward to participating in the chat and seeing you all there. Feel free to use materials from our Distracted Driving toolkit during the chat.
The Safe Routes Partnership is hosting “Dropping Enforcement from the 6 E’s: A Virtual Discussion” on October 15th from 12:00 - 1:00PM EST. The discussion is intended to help answer questions and facilitate dialogue about what removing Enforcement from the 6 E’s means for local, regional, and state Safe Routes to School programs. Please note that this event is limited to 300 participants, so only sign up if you are planning on participating in the entire webinar, including the discussion breakouts. A recording will be available October 19th if you would like to view the presentation. Click here to register.