Ventura County lifts ban on trick-or-treating during pandemic

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - The Ventura County Public Health Department decided to lift its previous ban on trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treat events Wednesday, just one day after they announced the activities would not be permitted.

On Tuesday, Ventura County Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin read off a list of guidelines from the county on Halloween festivities during the pandemic. The list stated that door-to-door trick-or-treating was not permitted because of expected difficulties in maintaining social distancing on porches, inability to enforce masks for those answering the door and potential COVID-19 contamination on candy.

However, on Wednesday, the county released an updated list of Halloween guidelines which removed trick-or-treating from the "Not Permitted" list, placing it instead on a new "Not Recommended" activity list.

Activities that remained on the "Not Permitted" list include social events such as Halloween gatherings, parties, carnivals and haunted houses.

The list of "Not Recommended" activities includes door-to-door trick-or-treating and “Trunk or treating” where children go from car-to-car instead of door-to-door to receive treats.

Permitted and recommended Halloween activities include online parties and contests, car parades and drive-by events, movie nights at drive-in theaters, Halloween-themed meals, Halloween displays at an outdoor museum and decorating your house and yard for the holiday.

Public Health said they are making these recommendations in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the county so that businesses can get closer to reopening under the states benchmark guidelines.

For updates and a breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Ventura County, click here.

For COVID-19 guidelines and announcements from Ventura County, visit www.venturacountyrecovers.org.