Halloween gets the green light in Sherbrooke

The Sherbrooke Police released their annual safety guidelines for Halloween trick-or-treating on Monday. The SPS will be out haunting the streets on Saturday, October 31, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Working alongside volunteers from a host of different local organizations, the police will be doing their usual job of looking out for trick-or-treaters while also encouraging the public to respect a particular set of special health and safety protocols being promoted by the local public health department.
While door-to-door candy collection is permitted across the province of Quebec this year, groups should be limited to people who live under one roof. Anyone who is presenting symptoms of COVID-19, or living with someone who is, should remain isolated at home. A distance of two metres should always be observed between people of different households and wearing a face covering is recommended if that two-metre distance cannot be respected at all times.
Children who do trick-or-treat are encouraged to stay within their own neighbourhoods and are asked to refrain from singing or shouting in front of strangers so as to limit the spray of droplets.
This year, as always, children should not enter the houses of others.
Handwashing is recommended upon the return home, and hand sanitizer is a good idea while out on the streets. If children eat treats while out and about, they are asked to disinfect their hands with an alcohol-based solution afterward.
Perhaps most challenging for youngsters, parents are encouraged to quarantine gathered candy for at least 24 hours after it enters the home. To help offset that loss, the police encourage parents to prepare some candy in advance that can be made available while the trick or treaters wait.
People who are planning to greet trick-or-treaters on Saturday are encouraged to prepare individual bags of candy in advance and place them in a location where they can be collected by children without getting closer than two metres.
On the subject of Halloween parties, the notice from the SPS points out that while they are not expressly forbidden in orange zones, anyone planning a gathering must abide by the restrictions in place, meaning a maximum of six people in an indoor or outdoor private gathering or a maximum of 25 people in a public place.

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