For many Texas kids, trick-or-treating is canceled because of the pandemic. These parents have other plans.

As daily case counts and hospitalizations across Texas tick upward, local health officials are cracking down on Halloween. At least two counties – Hidalgo and El Paso – have banned door-to-door trick-or-treating. Others are discouraging participation while promoting safer alternatives such as carving pumpkins or having a candy hunt at home.

“When trick-or-treaters walk from house to house to house, who knows who or what they’re going to come [in contact] with,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said in an interview. “It doesn’t mean that the kids can’t have a good time and can’t celebrate Halloween with family, but we just want them to do it safely, and we don’t think door-to-door trick-or-treating is safe.”

City and county officials in El Paso, where coronavirus hospitalizations are soaring, have also banned trick-or-treating. Meanwhile, officials in the state’s largest counties — Dallas, Tarrant, Travis, Bexar and Harris — have stopped short of banning the tradition but recommend against it, pointing to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says to avoid going door to door and passing out treats by hand.

“We don’t want door-to-door trick-or-treating. Period,” El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said during a press conference earlier this month. As of Oct. 20, the state reported 34,035 cases in El Paso County.

If families still choose to go trick-or-treating, Austin health officials are asking that they only go with household members, keep 6 feet from others and use hand sanitizer between houses. Tarrant County officials recommend contactless methods for distributing treats, such as hanging them from a wall or fence, and wiping down candy at the end of the night.

“This year, we are encouraging families to make new traditions,” said Austin Public Health director Stephanie Hayden. “We know it’s tough to change holiday traditions, but it is important to keep our loved ones safe this year. Making new traditions can keep families close while keeping everyone safe so that we will be able to gather again in the years to come.”

Cash Hale, an 8-year-old from San Antonio, has spent weeks planning an at-home event where his family will negotiate for different piles of candy, said his father, Travis Hale. At the end of the night, there will be an auction to see who can afford the biggest haul.

“It’s something we talk about almost every night – he wants to make sure we’re ready for the new Halloween,” Travis Hale said. “We would love to [go trick-or-treating], but it doesn’t make sense to go through the neighborhood and go to everyone’s doors.”

Cortez, worried about grabbing treats out of communal bowls and passing out candy by hand, is hoping his ban on trick-or-treating will prevent another surge similar to the one Hidalgo County officials saw in July.

This summer, the Rio Grande Valley, where Hidalgo County is located, was considered one of the worst hot spots for coronavirus cases in the country. But Cortez said not everyone agrees with his decision, and he’s concerned about enforcement across the county’s 22 cities.

“There’s some [parents] that are screaming and yelling about how can we keep their children from enjoying Halloween traditions, and there’s some that say thank you for keeping us safe,” Cortez said.

As of Oct. 20, the state reported 34,179 cases in Hidalgo County.