BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The city of Beverly Hills has banned trick-or-treating this Halloween to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The action was taken in an urgency ordinance approved by the City Council Tuesday night.
The ordinance bars trick-or-treaters from going house to house or car to car, which is described as “trunk or treating.”
People also may not provide candy and other Halloween treats to any person outside their own household.
People are prohibited from spraying shaving cream on others, except inside their own homes. Licensed barbers are exempted so they may shave customers.
The city is also banning pedestrians and vehicles from certain streets on Oct. 31, excluding residents.
“While I know this is disappointing news, especially to our children, we believe this is the responsible approach to protect the health of the community,” Mayor Lester Friedman said in a statement.
California has not enacted a statewide restriction on Halloween but is strongly discouraging traditional activities and urging families to plan alternatives including virtual celebrations.
“The whole act of going door to door and groups ringing doorbells, digging into buckets of delicious candy create a risk of spreading COVID-19,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's top health official, said Tuesday.
Such activities will also complicate contact tracing if virus cases occur, he said.
