This year, going out for Halloween could be scarier than running into ghosts and sharing horror stories.
Students are planning for Halloween around social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Worried about the health of themselves and roommates or family, some students plan to dress up in costumes and host parties at their apartments with students in their social bubble.
Attending parties increases the risk of getting infected with COVID-19 because it’s more difficult to distance from others indoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Just stay home, dress up, take pictures, do everything that you would on Halloween but just quarantine style,” said Madisan Diaz, a sophomore secondary education and world language major. “Keep it to a minimum.”
People create social bubbles by agreeing to have contact with a small group of people, but still social distance, ABC news reported.
Philadelphia recommends against indoor gathering over 25 people, according to the city website.
Diaz still plans to celebrate, but is “definitely staying home,” she said.
“The best thing to do to take care of our own personal health and the health of the community of North Philly is just staying home, being safe,” she added.
Allie Davis, a junior applied behavior analysis major, plans to invite a few close friends to hang out on her roof so they will be outside.
“We’ve been hanging out with all the same people,” Davis said. “A bunch of our friends had COVID in the beginning, so we all quarantined for like two weeks and then we’ve just been with the same people.”
Davis plans to dress up as Mother Nature, wearing a green skirt and tube top wrapped with leaves, flowers and a leaf headband.
Georgia Miller is also planning to host a small group of close friends at her apartment because she is concerned about large gatherings.
“Probably just a group of five to 10 and we’re just going to hang out and relax and watch some Halloween movies and eat a lot of candy,” said Miller, a junior social work major.
Miller’s worried about other students going out to parties, especially younger students who might want to experience Halloween parties and haven’t had the chance to in previous years, because COVID-19 cases could rise, she said.
On Oct. 19, there were 59 active cases of COVID-19 on Temple’s University’s campus, The Temple News reported.
Jake Dunlap and his roommates have a social bubble including another house of their friends. Dunlap, a senior architectural design major, said while he isn’t planning to attend a large party, his roommates will still do something for the holiday.
Dunlap usually wears the same basketball jersey, but wants to switch it up this year, he said.
“I always kind of take the easy way out and I figured, it’s my senior year, I got to do something funny,” he added.
If he can’t think of a better costume, Aaron Moyer will go to a small social gathering dressed as what he was every year for Halloween at Temple: a sailor.
“I’ve gone as like a sailor with a cutoff polo for like the last how many years?” said Moyer, a senior risk management and insurance major. “So maybe I’ll do that again, but maybe I’ll switch it up.”
Moyer is worried cases of COVID-19 will increase around campus following Halloween weekend because some students will party, he said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are still huge Halloween parties going on,” he added. “It’s just inevitable, we’re on a college campus. Not everyone’s going to follow the guidelines and the rules.”
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