City of Lake Charles provides Halloween safety recommendations

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Halloween is going to look different this year as Southwest Louisiana continues to rebuild after back-to-back hurricanes.

As Lake Charles prepares the spooky holiday, the city is providing Halloween safety recommendations for residents.

“If parents are going to take their kids to trick-or-treat they [should] wrap those activities up by 6 p.m. and have them home by 6:30 p.m.," City of Lake Charles public information officer Katie Harrington said. "That’s purely just based on the safety aspects of knowing that we still have some residential street lights that are out.”

Harrington said people should also be aware of debris on the side of the roads and ongoing construction.

“A lot of new roofs are going on right now and although those contractors make excellent efforts to pick up nails and those sorts of things, we know those are in the roadway as well."

Residents should limit activities to daylight hours and stick to areas they know. Trick-or-treaters also want to be mindful of safety precautions like social distancing, washing their hands and wearing a face mask.

“I think there are many creative ways that we can do that, of course, you can make the mask apart of your costume potentially," Regional Medical Director Dr. Lacey Cavanaugh said. "If you’re giving out candy, you can make sure that you put candy in little single serve bags you know that are separated on a table.”

If you are trick-or-treating, Dr. Cavanaugh said people want to make sure to stay in a small group and not interact with other large groups. While the holiday might look different, it’s a celebration that is sure to lift some spirits.

“That spirit of community is still there, and I think that if you know we can definitely still look forward to the holiday season, even though things may be a little bit different this year. I think there’s a lot of hope to be found," Harrington said.

For a complete list of Halloween safety tips, click HERE.

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