TORONTO -- Families across the country have assembled their costumes and stockpiled their candy to celebrate a Halloween unlike any other.

Public health restrictions to protect against COVID-19 vary depending on the region, but most officials have given trick-or-treating the go-ahead.

That excludes the Ontario infection hot spots of Ottawa, Toronto, and York and Peel regions as well as the Campbellton region of New Brunswick. 

Elsewhere, public health officials have urged people to keep Halloween parties small, if they're allowed to go ahead at all.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault, for instance, has said that in his province, Halloween is only for kids this year -- no adult gatherings allowed.

But experts say there are ways to mark the holiday even without trick-or-treating, such as telling scary stories or going on a scavenger hunt for candy.