SAN ANTONIO – With Labor Day in the past and the introduction of cooler weather this week, people are shifting their excitement to Halloween — and wondering how different it will look during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus caused the first major Halloween cancelation this week when Los Angeles announced a ban on trick-or-treating and haunted houses, but San Antonio officials say it’s too early to tell which route the city will take.
“This reminds me of walking into a store on Halloween and hearing Christmas carols. It’s a bit early to have that discussion,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said during a daily briefing on Wednesday.
Dr. Sandra Guerra, assistant medical director of Metro Health, agreed with the mayor and said there may be additional safety and security measures in place.
“Since the start of time, there’s always been health concerns around anything that children can be involved in,” she said. “... It is something that as parents, particularly of children, wanting to make sure whatever activities they’re involved in, they do it safely."
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said by the end of October, the city will be able to gauge any spike in COVID-19 cases due to Labor Day celebrations or back to school.
Flu activity will also be monitored when making decisions for Halloween, he said.
“It all depends on where we are then. It’s kind of hard to look ahead and not know what’s happening with the other things that we’re going to be watching before we get to that period of time,” he said.
The city announced an increase of 151 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths on Wednesday. That brings the total to 47,887 total COVID-19 cases and 981 total deaths in Bexar County.
Less than 300 people remain hospitalized due to the virus.