Have a scarily good time this Halloween - but stay safe and stick to the COVID-19 guidance

Wiltshire Council is encouraging families to have a scarily fun but safe Halloween this year and is urging everyone to stick to the COVID-19 guidance.

With Wiltshire currently sitting in the Medium tier of the government's local COVID alert levels, but with cases rising locally, the council is asking people to avoid trick or treating, not hold gatherings for more than six people, and instead take part in fun Halloween household activities.

These activities could include:

• a fun Halloween party with your household
• decorating pumpkins to display
• virtual Halloween party and games with wider-family and friends over Zoom or FaceTime
• hold a trick or treat treasure hunt with sweets and goodies being the prize
• make homemade costumes and decorations
• bake homemade Halloween-themed treats and have a spooky feast

The Medium tier of the COVID Alert list means people cannot mix in groups of more than six indoors or outdoors.

Wiltshire Council has produced a Halloween safety pack with some useful advice and guidance and some fun activities for youngsters.

People can also download the new free Salisbury Trails App and follow the Witchcraft, Riots and Treason trail that takes you through the trials and tribulations experienced by the city.  The app is available free for download to Apple and Android devices via the Apple App-Store and Google Play.

Wiltshire Libraries have a series of online Halloween themed activities. They are running a Facebook Halloween quiz to test people's knowledge of all things spooky. The quiz will be published at 7pm on Thursday 29 October, with answers published 24 hours later.

People can take part  on the libraries page as part of Get Online Week, Amesbury library has created a video about Halloween and Christmas crafts, which can be viewed at ourLibraries YouTube: Get Online Week 2020 - Craft eMagazines (opens new window)

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said:

We know it's a shame that Halloween will be a little different this year, but there's still plenty of fun to be had inside. It's vital at this time that we're as sensible as possible so that the virus stays under control in Wiltshire so we can get through this as quickly as possible.

Hopefully, by sticking to the rules, next year will see families, friends and neighbours gathering together again and celebrating in style.

People need to:

• follow the Hands, Face, Space guidance: wash hands often and thoroughly, wear a face mask in enclosed spaces and keep two metres apart or one metre+ with a face covering or other protection
• follow the rule of six if meeting indoors or outdoors

They should self-isolate if:

• they develop COVID-19 symptoms
• they have tested positive for COVID-19
• someone in their support bubble has symptoms or tested positive
• they're told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app - it is now a legal requirement to do so
• they arrive in the UK from a country with a high COVID-19 risk