UCSF doctor says it's safe to trick-or-treat this Halloween as CDC releases holiday COVID guidelines - KGO-TV

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Can you believe it? It's already October and that means Halloween is right around the corner.

The CDC has released holiday COVID recommendations for families to stay safe.

Sunday many children in Alameda started their Halloween celebration early at the Speer Family Farms Pumpkin Patch after limited holiday celebrations last year.

"We stayed at home," says Eduardo Banos who was at the pumpkin patch with his wife and daughter.

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"Last Halloween got cancelled, only some people were trick or treating," says 9-year-old Mohamed Mohammed.

That though is likely to change this year and children we talked with are more than a bit excited about that.

"We never celebrate Halloween and this time my school is going to celebrate it and I want to go there and have a costume. I kind of want to be a guitar player on Halloween," says 10-year-old Muzhgan Bakhdyai.

"Last year we didn't get to go trick-or-treating because of COVID and this year we might get to go trick-or-treating," says 8-year-old Madison Smith-Andrews.

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While some are still deciding if they will do Halloween, doctors we talked with say it is safe.

"We do know that surfaces are not a big issue with COVID-19, it may be an issue with the common cold, but not with COVID-19, it's thousands of times less risky than the nose and mouth raspatory droplets," says UCSF's Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.

The CDC recommends virtual gatherings and outdoor celebrations for all holidays. They also recommend that unvaccinated individuals mask indoors.

To those wanting to be as safe as possible, Dr. Chin-Hong also recommends vaccination requirements and at-home COVID test requirements before gatherings, although not addressed by the CDC.

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"My mom's going to come and my cousins are going to come," says Mohammed.

And parents say they are better prepared this year.

"All of the family vaccinated already," says Banos.

"We're able to cherish these moments a lot more," says Jasmine Smith who was at the pumpkin patch with her kids.

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