Opinion | Take it from a Michigan doctor: Don't cancel Halloween. Change it.

The leaves are falling, the temperatures are dropping, and autumn is here.  Fall is a favorite season in Michigan with cider mills, doughnuts, pumpkin-spice lattes, the beautiful colorful foliage and of course Halloween. This Halloween will be like none other, as Michiganders are still living through a deadly pandemic and flu season is ramping up. In Michigan, to date, there are 186,000 cases and 7,606 deaths; it’s a scary reality that the coronavirus is still very much a threat to our everyday lives. The emergency order by Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services has been extended as COVID-19 cases surge in Michigan. The extension includes new restrictions that target gatherings that have resulted in rapid spreading of the virus. So with all the warnings, should Halloween be canceled? 

Although this year has been full of challenges, Halloween shouldn’t be one of them.  The negative impact on mental health of Michiganders has also surged due to this virus. As a doctor, I believe that Halloween should be celebrated, but just differently than the norm.

I usually hold or attend an annual Halloween party. But this year, I have opted to spend Halloween with my quarantine pod. This includes watching a socially distanced parade of children march through the neighborhood from my porch, carve a pumpkin that reminds my neighbors to vote, and dress up in costume while face-timing my nephews. Just yesterday, I enjoyed a FaceTime call with my excited 6-year-old nephew about whose house was the scariest. He won, of course.

Here are some ways to have fun and still stay safe this Halloween.

1. Avoid large gatherings

2. Instead of large gatherings (10 people or more) consider a virtual gathering, family fun (with family you live with) or an outdoor gathering with limited people.

   Some ideas include: Halloween art projects, pumpkin-carving contests, decorating the house, making your own haunted house, telling ghost stories, watching scary movies, or having a candy scavenger hunt around the house. The list of fun is limited only by your imagination.

3. Keep a distance of 6 feet or more in Halloween parades or other outdoor activities.

   An easy way to comply with this is to attend a parade in a car or join a trunk-or-treat event. If it’s a neighborhood organized event, check the safety enforcements before attending. If it looks too crowded, even if outdoors, abort the mission.  Always have a plan B to avoid disappointment.

4. Wear a face-covering. 

   Make the face-covering as part of your costume. Maybe be a health care hero as a doctor or nurse.

5. Wash hands often with soap and water.

   When it comes to fighting infection, nothing replaces soap and water. Hand-sanitizer is good, but old-fashioned hand-washing for 20 seconds is important to enforce. With young kids, play monster mash while kids are washing their hands (take frequent hand-washing “monster mash” breaks).

6.  Wipe down the packages of candy received at events or let them sit outside for a couple days before giving them to your child to avoid package contamination.

   The power to be adaptable is a sign of resiliency. Kids learn by example. Our ability to be flexible in the face of adversity will rub off on them. We need reasons to celebrate, laugh and have fun especially during COVID-19. Our mental health will suffer otherwise. Let’s be vigilant about our mental health as well as our physical health. Take it from a doctor, don’t skip Halloween; just be creative in how to design a new, COVID-19, safe Halloween tradition.