Halloween Shut Down Over COVID-19; Few Trick-or-Treaters Hit Neighborhoods
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The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department Saturday morning canceled all Halloween events, including Trick-or-Treating, as the county has entered "gold" status due to rising cases of COVID-19.
The Marshall County Health Department did the same, as the county there is now "orange" in the state map.
But the cancellation of events didn't stop people from Trick-or-Treating Saturday evening. Many neighborhoods throughout Ohio and Marshall counties saw youngsters going door-to-door for treats.
Over the past week, Ohio and Marshall counties combined have added nearly 200 new cases of COVID-19. All county health departments in the Northern Panhandle agreed on uniform guidance for Halloween events. As long as a county was green or yellow, those events could proceed. In gold, orange or red, those events would be canceled.
Health Department Administrator Howard Gamble said the move is being done to slow COVID-19's community spread. "Ohio County and Marshall County are at the top of the Northern Panhandle right now in terms of new cases in a short period of time," Gamble said. "Ohio and Marshall counties have community spread -- these new cases are not coming from an outbreak on a team, or at a school or long-term care facility. They're coming from community spread."
Meanwhile, for school purposes, all local counties will be able to hold in-person classes this week. Hancock and Brooke counties are green, Ohio and Wetzel are yellow and Marshall and Tyler are gold. Wheeling Middle School also announced Saturday a positive test of a staff member and that learning would be remote this week.