The CDC is specifically warning the public to avoid traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door this year in order to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
But Martinsville Mayor Kathy Lawson announced during Tuesday's City Council meeting that it was "Halloween as usual" in the city of Martinsville.
We are "asking the residential folks to make sure they are wearing masks when 'treating' their visitors, and using precautions about distance," Lawson said. "The city plans to post the CDC and the Virginia Department of Health's guidelines on the [city's] website."
Halloween this year falls on a Saturday during the same weekend NASCAR is racing at Martinsville Speedway and the night before you turn your clock back an hour for the end of Daylight Saving Time.
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Those guidelines say Halloween "will likely need to be different this fall to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19," and "many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses."
First on the list of higher-risk activities the public is asked to avoid: "Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door."
The CDC says their recommendations are "meant to supplement - not replace - any state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations."
Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association’s Entrepreneurial Development Manager Kimberly Keller told the Bulletin earlier this month that Halloween night in Uptown Martinsville was canceled in order to "ensure the safety of everyone."
Henry County Administrator Tim Hall said Wednesday morning that the Board of Supervisors had, so-far, taken a hands-off approach on the issue.
"The Board of Supervisors hasn’t considered or discussed any changes," Hall said. "We hope that families make decisions that are in their best interests, and if they venture out, we hope they will follow the standard social-distance guidelines – stay at least 6 feet away from others, wear masks, use hand sanitizer or soap and avoid large groups.
"No matter what the question is, the answer is we all need to follow those simple instructions."
The Virginia Department of Health issued an advisory for citizens living in the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District about how to protect against disease spread on Halloween, but the West Piedmont Health District, which includes Martinsville and Henry County, had not as done so as of Thursday afternoon.
Then there is the legal aspect of masks and face coverings.
Section 13-16 of the Martinsville Code of Ordinances says "it shall be unlawful and a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person upon the public streets or sidewalks of the city, or in any public place in the city, wearing a mask" unless they are 12 -years of age or younger and engaged in Halloween. Â
Technically, if parents follow Hall's advice and wear a pandemic-advised mask while shadowing their child trick-or-treating, they are violating the law.
Deputy Police Chief Rob Fincher says the officers in his department will follow the "spirit of the law" instead.
"So trick or treating will take place this year on October 31, Halloween is permitted for those young people 12 years old or younger up until 9 p.m.," Fincher said. "As far as the masquerading code, it is important to understand the spirit of the law which we understand to be that someone would be in violation if they were concealing their face to hide their identity with the intention of committing some other criminal act.
"We recognize there is a difference in wearing a mask for health reasons and for committing a crime. So we encourage everyone at this time to wear face coverings as suggested by the Virginia Department of Health for medical and public health safety purposes."
While the CDC is calling traditional trick-or-treating "one of the riskiest traditions during the novel coronavirus pandemic," a recent Harris Poll says 80% of those surveyed say trick-or-treat is at the top of their list of things to do on Halloween.
Good Housekeeping quotes Sandra Kesh, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and deputy medical director at New York's Westmed Medical Group as saying "In an area where there's still ongoing community spread [and things] haven't gotten to the point where things are opening up again, I don't think trick-or-treating is a great idea."
Fincher encourages everyone who chooses to participate in Halloween in the city of Martinsville this year to "use good common sense" and "to limit group gatherings and to wash your hands frequently."
"Every Halloween the Martinsville Police Department is concerned for the safety of our trick-or-treaters, in particular on the roadways," said Fincher. "This year everyone has the added concern of pandemic safety."