Here’s what we know so far about what Halloween will look like in the era of COVID-19 (testing gallery)

A printable sign McHenry residents can post on their door is one McHenry County town’s solution to how to celebrate Halloween as safely as possible.

Residents can hang the sign – which features a would-be trick-or-treater and the message 'Sorry, no trick-or-treat,' on their doors if they feel uncomfortable participating in trick-or-treating this year.

“We’ve gotten a lot of calls about it … I think a lot of people want something normal and they want something to do because there’s so much you can’t do,” McHenry Deputy City Clerk Monte Johnson said Wednesday. “Their kids are bored, you know, a lot of things have been canceled.”

The city has set trick-or-treating hours at 4 to 8 p.m. and asked that residents refrain from distributing homemade treats or fresh fruits. It also advised residents to trick-or-treat with family members rather than friends, not to approach homes when another group is already there and asked that homeowners pass out candy rather than having children take from a communal bowl.

The guidance is similar to what other area communities are telling their residents, though some are warning that the plans are contingent upon state guidance.

As of Thursday evening, neither the Illinois Department of Public Health nor the McHenry County Department of Health had released more localized guidelines around Halloween celebrations.

With the proper precautions in place, Dr. Gary Reschak, a pediatrician with Northwestern Medicine, said, Halloween-lovers can still enjoy the holiday.

“When parents really think about keeping their kids safe and really take those extra steps – bring the hand sanitizer, wear the mask – I do think it's going to be possible for kids of all ages, from the young ones to the high schoolers and beyond, to have close to a normal Halloween or something that at least feels normal enough to get that sense of normalcy back,” Reschak said in an interview Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Halloween safety guidelines on Monday that categorize celebration activities into three groups: lower risk, moderate risk and higher risk.

Lower risk alternatives include carving or decorating pumpkins with the people you live with or outside with friends at a safe distance, having a Halloween movie night with your family or opting for scavenger hunt version of trick-or-treating where kids look for candy around the house.

Many local cities and towns have released their own guidance for families ahead of this year's Halloween celebration as they begin announcing public trick-or-treating hours.

In a Facebook post, the city of Harvard set their hours at 4 to 8 p.m. and encouraged families to take "extra precautions" and to only visit homes with a porch light on. Trick-or-treating hours are "contingent upon state guidance," which many municipalities said they expect to receive soon.

Crystal Lake posted a statement on their website Thursday announcing that trick-or-treating hours will be slightly earlier, running from 3 to 7 p.m.

A notice from the village of Huntley stated that the village has gotten a lot of questions about whether Halloween will be "cancelled."

"Participating in trick-or-treating is an individual choice; if a homeowner chooses not participate, they simply need to keep their porch light off," interim Village Manager Lisa Armour said in an emailed statement. "If a parent is uncomfortable with their child going door-to-door, then they should refrain from doing so."

Huntley's trick-or-treating hours will be 3 to 8 p.m., according to the notice.

An official with the city of Woodstock said they are waiting on guidance from the state before they make any public statements about the holiday.

The traditional trick-or-treating style of going from house to house knocking on doors is listed as a "higher risk activity" by the CDC along with crowded indoor costume parties, indoor haunted houses and traveling to fall festivals in other areas.

Instead, the CDC recommended what they called "one-way trick-or-treating," listed as a moderate risk, where candy or goodie bags are laid out on a table for children to take in a socially distant manner without having to come into close contact with each homeowner.

Reschak also recommended this method as the safest way to still participate in one of Halloween's most cherished traditions.

Other ways to ensure a safe trick-or-treating experience is to carry hand sanitizer and to sanitize children's hands after they handle candy from each house, Reschak said.

Another important precaution is to sanitize Halloween candy at the end of the night, Reschak said. After he takes his own children trick-or-treating next month, he said he plans to lay their candy out on a towel and spray the packaging down with an anti-bacterial disinfectant spray. The spray should be allowed to dry before kids enjoy their candy.

An alternate option is to wash candy and other packaged goodies with soap and warm water, he said.

As always, parents and kids over 2 years of age should wear face coverings when trick-or-treating if it is at all likely that they will be unable to maintain six feet of distance between themselves and someone outside of their household, he said.

Reschak highlighted warnings from the CDC against wearing a full-face costume mask over a face mask as that could make it difficult to breathe.

“A Zorro-type mask that just really kind of covers the eyes, I don't see any reason why the child – as long as they can still comfortably see – would have trouble wearing that and a face mask at the same time,” he said.

Families can explore creative ways to integrate a cloth face covering into their child's costume, Reschak said, giving the example of a COVID-19-conscious ninja.

The main things to avoid are activities listed as "higher risk" by the CDC such as indoor costume parties or large gatherings, he said. Younger kids especially are not good at remembering to keep a distance between themselves and others so parents should avoid parties and opt for smaller, outdoor gatherings with close family or friends.

The CDC also listed the consumption of alcohol or drugs as a higher risk activity as those substances "can cloud judgment and increase risky behaviors."

Safety guidelines also were released Monday for the celebration of Día de los Muertos or “Day of the Dead,” which runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, as well as Thanksgiving.