A leading health expert has said that couples who do not live together should avoid sex in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
In news that you probably did not need on a Monday morning, professor Paul Hunter has urged couples who live apart to stay apart – and when we say apart, we mean completely apart.
The unwelcome but important advice comes after it was revealed that coronavirus can be spread through rimming. It has also been revealed that, despite claims to the contrary, masturbation cannot protect you from contracting COVID-19.
But now, professor Hunter has insisted that couples who are not living together keep their distance in an effort to slow the pandemic.
Couples who do not live together should ‘stay away’ from sex in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus.
“If your partner does not live with you then they should be staying away,” professor Hunter told Sky News.
That doesn’t mean that couples who live together have the all-clear, however. Professor Hunter also recommended that couples where one partner is in a high-risk category, such as being aged over 70 or having an underlying health condition, should also stay away from sex.
“If you or your partner are self-isolating because one of you have symptoms (cough or fever) then providing you live together then you do not necessarily need to give up sex for the seven-day period recommended for individual cases to self-isolate,” professor Hunter said.
If your partner does not live with you then they should be staying away.
He also warned that sex should definitely be avoided if one of you is feeling unwell.
“It would probably be best to avoid sex whilst you feel poorly,” he said.
He added: “Whether you do or do not still have sex during this period, remember to wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds and avoid touching your or your partner’s face with unwashed hands.”
Unsurprisingly, people are also being warned to stay away from group sex.
It’s also bad news for people who partake in group sex, professor Hunter warned.
“If your sex life is rather more bohemian and you cannot get to have sex without mixing with some/many other people, this mixing is advised against, so stay at home. This is especially important if you are in one of the at-risk groups.”
The unwelcome but important advice will come as a blow to LGBT+ people across the world, many of whom are self-isolating in an effort to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 300,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 across the world, and there are more than 14,000 confirmed deaths.
Governments across the world have asked people to engage in social distancing and self-isolation in an effort to curb the pandemic – and for many people, that also means abstinence.