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What are the risks associated with intimacy in the time of coronavirus? Three experts weigh in
With countries on lockdown and millions being made to stay at home, it’s unsurprising many couples and single people are wondering what coronavirus means for their sex lives. With this in mind, we asked three experts five of the most pressing questions about intimacy during the pandemic.
Is Covid-19 sexually transmissible?
Dr Jessica Justman: We’re not seeing patterns that indicate sexual transmission. It’s primarily spread through respiratory droplets. And touching contaminated surfaces is thought to be the secondary mode of transmission.
Dr Julia Marcus: But for people who don’t have symptoms and don’t have any recent likely exposure and have been staying close to home, I think that, if it’s within your own household, it’s a different story. If you live with a regular sexual partner and you don’t have any symptoms, or likely exposure, sex might actually be a really great way to have fun, stay connected and relieve anxiety during this potentially stressful time.
What about new partners?
Marcus: The recommendation right now is that we try to stay home as much as we can and really only interact with people for things that are essential, like groceries. And even when we do that, try to keep some physical distance of about 6ft from other people. That would definitely make sex a challenge.
Rodríguez-Díaz: Sexual intercourse may decrease during the next few weeks, but other forms of expressing eroticism, such as sexting, video-calls, reading erotica and masturbation will continue to be options.
How can someone keep sex toys clean?
Use these couple of weeks to channel your energy, explore yourself, maybe think about what it is that you’re looking for. And you can do that by yourself. It can be a great opportunity to explore other ways of engaging with new sexual partners that you can meet online by sexting or using video calls.
Experts:
Dr Jessica Justman is a professor and attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Dr Carlos E Rodríguez-Díaz is a professor at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health
Dr Julia Marcus is an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School
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