Don't let COVID-19 carelessness haunt you on Halloween, doctors say
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cristiano Guzman might not get his way on a costume this year.
He is only 3 so his mom, Kristen, is picking for him and his little sister Arlo.
"They are going to be Mickey and Minnie because I think this is the last year he's going to let me pick for him," said Kristen, who said she's more comfortable letting her kids roam their Brier Creek neighborhood this Halloween.
Her husband, Silfo, agrees.
"I think everybody is doing their job. I think we're ready for something to go back to normal," he said.
Dr. Christoph Deasio, a pediatrician in the Sandhills, said he believes we are in a much better place now than we were last Halloween.
However, he insists now is not the time to relax and pretend COVID is gone.
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There is also the flu season to be worried about.
"I talked to an intensive care doctor who said I'm not worried about a bad flu season, I'm worried about a regular flu season," said Deasio. "If we have a regular flu season on top of mild to moderate COVID, that would really be overwhelming for hospitals."
He said it's fine to take your kids trick-or-treating especially given it's mostly outside. You should continue to instill within them good hand hygiene and also ensure they are crossing the street safely and not tripping on their costumes.
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"I'm happy for the kids. Let them have their moment to be kids," said Noel Crumpler, whose 3-year-old Eleanor finally gets a chance this year to trick-or-treat. "Let them hand out some hand sanitizer."
As for whether a surge is upcoming, Deasio said it's hard to predict the future but you try to control what you can control.
"So we can vaccinate the people who can be vaccinated, we can continue to wear masks and we can get people flu vaccines," he said.
