There's nothing scarier than putting yourself and your family at unnecessary risk, that’s why this Halloween needs to be a little bit different to previous years.

We still want you to have fun, but please remember that the national guidance for Tier 1 (medium) is still in place in Swindon and needs to be followed to prevent coronavirus spreading.

Some of the more traditional Halloween celebrations could spread COVID-19, so this year, please avoid:

• Trick or treating- where sweets are shared by going door to door
• Apple Bobbing - as droplets may be exchanged
• Switching your face covering for a Halloween mask - your face covering will protect you from COVID, your Halloween mask won’t
• It’s currently illegal to host and attend any parties, indoors or outdoors with groups of more than six people. Organisers of mass gatherings could be fined £10,000 and all attendees could face a £200 penalty.

Instead of these you could:

• Take part in one of the community scarecrow trails that have been set up around Swindon - there’s one in Redhouse and Oakhurst, as well as, Ramleaze and Shaw
• Carve or decorate a pumpkin and make pumpkin pie with the guts
• Have a scavenger hunt in your back garden for everyone in your household
• Watch a spooky movie
• Make your own Halloween decorations and sweet treats

If you leave the house, social distancing guidelines still need to be followed:

• Remember ‘Hands. Face. Space’ wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, wear a face covering indoors and stay two metres away from people you do not live with
• Keep to the ‘rule of six’ when meeting people both indoors and outdoors
• If you have COVID-19, have any of the symptoms, or have been in contact with anyone who has tested positive, you must self-isolate

As of 22 October, the case rate in Swindon was 68.9 cases per 100,000 compared to the average case rate across the South West region of 88.8 per 100,000 and 177.2 per 100,000 for England as a whole. However, we can’t be lulled into a false sense of security and thinking that Swindon is set to avoid reaching the ‘high’ or ‘very high’ COVID Alert Levels. That could quickly become a very real prospect if we allow complacency to set in.

We know what’s at stake. Avoiding moving to a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ COVID Alert Level means avoiding further restrictions being imposed on our lives. So let’s all be smart and enjoy Halloween in a fun but safe way.