Color Coded Map Helps Keep Trick Or Treaters Safe From COVID-19

One thing that I think we can all agree on is the fact that 2020 has been really weird and it's a challenge, if not impossible, to know which activities are safe and which aren't.

With Halloween 2020 only weeks away, a lot of families are trying to figure out the best way for their kids to enjoy safe trick or treating in the COVID-19 era.

That's why the Halloween & Costume Association has teamed up with the Harvard Global Health Institute to create a map of the United States that displays a color coded county by county COVID-19 risk guide.

The colors go from green to yellow to orange to red, with counties being dynamically updated as daily case counts change.

All you have to do is hover your mouse over a specific county to get the latest data that includes the 7-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases.

The page also includes suggested activities for each level.

Green, for example, encourages the good old fashioned trick or treating that we all know and love.

Yellow suggests doing a little bit of local legwork before trick or treating to keep the kids to neighbors who have safety measures in place.

The orange zone suggests keeping your kids on your own property and allowing neighbors to safely drop candy and treats off.

And the red zone includes the most cautious recommendations, like keeping Halloween gatherings to a small group of your closest friends and family.

As of this writing, both Ocean and Monmouth counties are coded as being in the yellow zone, but it's a good idea to go ahead and bookmark the page so you can keep an eye on the map and potential changes as Halloween 2020 gets closer.