Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will not ban trick-or-treating this Halloween, though he didn’t necessarily encourage parents to take their kids to their neighbors' homes to celebrate the holiday.
Cuomo’s proclamation came amid speculation he could sign a new Executive Order that would force local governments to bar door-to-door trick-or-treating due to the pandemic, similar to what other officials have done across the country.
“I would not ban trick-or-treaters going door to door,” Cuomo said during an interview on News 12. “I don't think that's appropriate. You have neighbors - if you want to go knock on your neighbor's door, God bless you and I'm not going to tell you not to.
“If you want to go for a walk with your child through the neighborhood, I'm not gonna tell you you can't take your child to the neighborhood, I'm not going to do that - I'll give you my advice and guidance and then you will make a decision what you do that night.”
Once the hottest spot in the country for COVID-19 cases, New York has seen a positive infection rate of under 1 percent for nearly six weeks.
Statewide, there have been 9,381,651 New Yorkers tested for the virus, resulting in 444,948 positive COVID-19 cases and 25,394 fatalities since the pandemic broke out in early March.
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