How to have safe sex during pandemic

AS PHYSICAL distancing is impossible during sexual relations, the prospect of getting infected with the novel coronavirus during intercourse is considered to be reasonably high.

Evidence show that those infected can pass the deadly disease onto others through their saliva, mucus and breath as Covid-19 spreads through tiny particles that an infected person exhales or when they talk, cough, or sneeze.

But sex experts have insisted that the need for connection and a way to blow off some steam during the pandemic has resulted in lovers across the globe willing to take the risk and engage in sheet-shaking antics.

“People will never, ever give up the need for human connection and will risk themselves to be close and that is never going to go away,” local clinical sexologist and couples therapist Marlene Wasserman, known as Dr Eve, said.

She adds that controlling adults and their sexual desires was not feasible and that they should be able to make their own decisions, particularly when it came to their sex lives.

“It is a fact that people are having sex, and we can’t police them and we shouldn’t be policing them.”

Wasserman says that there were conflicting Covid- 19 prevention protocols in different countries around the world which has left people confused and unsettled, which she believes has consequently left them to make their own decisions.

But health experts caution people about the dangers of engaging in sexual intercourse during the pandemic, with The Terrence Higgins Trust, a UK charity which specialises in sexual health, recently suggesting people avoid kissing, wear a face covering and choose positions that aren’t face-toface during sex.

The dangers associated with intimacy and Covid-19 has even prompted Hollywood to alter the way they film sex scenes.

Actors were reportedly increasingly using sex dolls for scenes which require touching with thin flexible plastic sheets, which can be edited out during production, also being used to enable kissing to be done safely.

Local sex expert Sharon Gordon, who is also the owner of Lola Montez, the purveyor of adult toys and relationship advice, believes that while couples should take more caution, most people are at risk of contracting the virus while going about their lives than they would during sex.

“I think you’re in as much danger if you go to a bar for a hook-up or a coffee shop.

“My partner and I live separately and didn’t see each other during the hard lockdown but we see each other now but if one of us was exposed we would stay apart until we were better.

“I think I’m more at risk from all the people I am in contact with during the day,” said Gordon.

Meanwhile, sexologist Dr Stephen de Wit explains that instead of policing an adult’s free will, communication was key when it comes to sex during the pandemic.

“What I am clear on is people’s sexual expression rarely bows to the wisdom of an expert. So, rather than saying ‘No it is not safe’ or ‘Yes, it is safe’, I think it is prudent to evaluate your risk, your partner’s risk, and who else you may put at risk.”

De Wit said it was essential to have a “covid convo” in addition to the “safer sex” conversation when enjoying hook-ups.

“Generally speaking, in non-global pandemic times, I encourage people to expand and diversify their sexual repertoire,” said De Wit.