COVID-19 continues to be active in Clark County, and PeaceHealth has several ideas to help your family celebrate the holiday in a safe manner.

PeaceHealth Family Medicine physician Heather Bergstrom, DO is concerned that, after eight months of meticulous masking and hand washing, the upcoming holidays may cause people to let down their guard. “I worry that mask fatigue is setting in, and people are growing weary of social distancing. However, we must continue to be mindful that our efforts to stop the spread of the virus are saving lives.”

Dr. Bergstrom, who provides care at PeaceHealth  Family Medicine Clinic at Fisher’s Landing, has great sympathy for the many experiences children are missing out on due to COVID-19. “Halloween is on a Saturday this year, which would normally offer such a great opportunity to get together as a community. However, from Halloween through Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year, it will be extremely important that we celebrate the holidays in socially distanced, safe and healthy ways.”

Many traditional Halloween activities such as costume parties can be high-risk for spreading viruses, and the Washington Department of Health is discouraging traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating this year. Dr. Bergstrom says it’s important to keep the holidays festive, but suggests creative new ways that protect our health:

• Carve pumpkins with members of your household or outside with neighbors or friends using separate tools/equipment.
• Walk from house to house, admiring Halloween decorations at a distance.
• Take the family on an autumn hike to an orchard or forest.
• Set up an outdoor Halloween-themed scavenger hunt with your household members.
• Hide Halloween treats in and around your house. Hold a Halloween treat hunt with household members.
• Hold an outdoor costume parade or contest in your neighborhood so everyone can show off their costumes while remaining socially distanced.
• Host an outdoor Halloween movie night with friends or neighbors, or an indoor movie night with your household members.

With many fall and winter celebrations on the calendar for the next few weeks including Halloween, Día de los Muertos, Navratri, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s, families and friends will naturally long to host and attend gatherings. This can be hard to resist, but socially distancing is important. Consider gathering in smaller groups outdoors or virtual options to reduce the risk of infecting those you care about. However, if you still plan to host a celebration, follow CDC tips for hosting gatherings and our local state/county recommendations.

About PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 900 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.