Cuomo To Issue Halloween Trick-Or-Treating Guidelines [POLL]

NEW YORK — To trick-or-treat or not to trick-or-treat. That is one of the questions that 2020 is making us consider this year.

On one hand, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is on the record saying that he wouldn't ban trick-or-treating during Halloween while the new coronavirus pandemic is still around us, according to AMNY.

In a radio interview Sept. 15, he said that, if you want to knock on your neighbor's door, "I'm not going to tell you not to."

Then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "Hold my candy bar."

The agency said Monday there are lower-risk activities related to Halloween, and there are moderate- and higher-risk activities. Under the higher-risk category is traditional trick-or-treating, where candy and other goodies are doled out to children who go door-to-door.

"Trunk-or-treat" activities, where lines of car trunks are substituted as the source of candy for children, are also considered by the CDC as higher risk.

Ditto for crowded costume parties held indoors, as well as hay rides and tractor rides with people who don't live in your household.

CDC experts also said that a costume mask should not be used as a substitute for a cloth mask — "unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers your mouth and nose and doesn't leave gaps around your face."

Lower-risk activities, according to the CDC, include having a virtual Halloween costume contest, decorating your house or apartment or having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with household members in your home.

There are many more suggestions, broken down by risk level, for Halloween, as well as other seasonal holidays on the CDC's website. The agency advises that celebrating virtually or with members of your own household pose low risk for spread of the new coronavirus. The CDC's recommendations are meant to supplement, but not replace, guidance from state or local health and safety laws, rules and regulations.

After the CDC weighed in, a spokesperson for Cuomo said on Wednesday the state was reviewing whether it would be safe for traditional trick-or-treating, Spectrum Local News reported.

The governor's office will be releasing its own guidelines after consultations with the state Department of Health.

So now it's your turn to give your opinion. Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us what you think in the comments.