End Trick-or-Treating Early This Year, Wayland Advises

WAYLAND, MA — The threat of blood-suckers is unfortunately very real this Halloween, so the town of Wayland is advising parents to curtail trick-or-treating activities.

The risk of Eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile is still high in the Wayland area. And because mosquitoes and trick-or-treaters are typically most active around dusk, town health officials say outdoor festivities should end by 6 p.m. The sun will set at around 5:42 p.m. on Oct. 31 this year.

Sudbury has also asked parents to end trick-or-treating at 6 p.m. Local residents should also expect trick-or-treaters to arrive earlier than usual this year, officials say.

According to the state Department of Public Health, EEE risk in Wayland was "high" as of Oct. 21 — neighboring communities like Sudbury and Framingham are still at "critical" EEE risk.

Health officials believe Massachusetts will need to see a "hard frost" before the EEE risk is over. That means temperatures at or below 28 degrees for several hours. According to long-range forecasts, overnight lows will only be down in the mid-40s through Oct. 31.

So far in 2019, 12 people in Massachusetts have contracted EEE, and three have died. There have been two other EEE outbreaks in the state: one between 2004 and 2006, and another between 2010 and 2012. Twenty-two people were sickened in those outbreaks.

Wayland is hosting an indoor trick-or-treating event at Town Hall this Monday.