Trick-or-treating this year doesn’t have to be tricky. Here’s what you need to know for Williamsburg, James City, York counties

The coronavirus pandemic has given this year a nasty trick, but that doesn’t mean kids can’t get their Halloween treats.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with local counties, have released their recommendations to have a safe and spooky Halloween this year.

The CDC released a list of recommended activities ranked by risk to exposure.

Low risk activities include pumpkin carving either indoors or outside with social distancing involved, hosting a virtual costume contest, or doing a scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house.

Moderate risk activities are visiting a pumpkin patch or orchard, attending an outdoor costume party, having a small, outdoor costume parade with social distancing measures, and participating in one-way trick-or-treating where goodie bags are lined up for families to grab.

Higher risk activities include, but are not limited to, participating in traditional trick-or-treating, attending indoor, crowded costume parties, going to indoor haunted houses, and going on hayrides with people outside of your household.

To view the full list of CDC Halloween recommendations, click here.

Williamsburg

Williamsburg residents who choose to trick or treat are asked to do so from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 for children ages 12 years and younger, according to a news release.

Residents are asked to assume a home is not participating in trick or treating if the front porch light is off.

The city also recommends families participate in lower risk activities as described by the CDC in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

Other safety tips from the include planning a trick or treating route in a familiar, well-lit neighborhood, avoiding homemade treats, and adding reflective strips to children’s’ costumes and candy bags.

To view Williamsburg’s recommendations, click here.

James City County

Residents or those frequenting James City County on Halloween might want to take note of some rules. Trick-or-treating hours are for children 12 years old and younger from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“To protect against COVID-19 everyone should avoid close contact with people who do not live in their household, wear a mask (cloth face covering) and practice social distancing and frequent and proper hand washing,” according to the Halloween flyer from James City County. “Events that involved large gatherings of individuals (e.g. large Halloween parties, haunted houses, etc.) can increase the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and are not recommended.”

The flyer includes other tips from the Virginia Department of Health by outlining low risk activities like pumpkin carving at home, moderate risk activities such as trick or treating while social distancing and high risk like trick-or-treating without wearing masks and going to indoor haunted houses.

York County

Trick-or-treating in York County will be from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Halloween night.

Children age 12 or younger may trick-or-treat and should be accompanied by an adult.

To ensure a safe Halloween experience, the York County Department of Fire and Life Safety and the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office offer these safety tips: incorporate a cloth mask into costumes as a Halloween face mask is not a suitable alternative, carry hand sanitizer to use often and avoid houses where porch lights are turned off.

Here’s a full list of safety tips.

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