Intimacy during Lockdown

By Aditi Roy

New Delhi, April 15  The lockdown has meant many different things for different types couples– those who share a good sex life enjoy the extra time for intimacy; for couples who don’t have such a great sex life it’s an opportunity to work on their intimacy, that is if you’re together during quarantine.

But for couples who are not together and self-isolating, Lockdown 2.0 can get quite tough, it is inevitable that many couples and singletons are wondering how this will affect their relationship.

Is Covid-19 sexually transmissible?
Till now there is no confirmation from experts that COVID-19 transmission patterns indicate sexual transmission. It’s primarily spread through respiratory droplets and secondary transmission is by touching of contaminated surfaces.

There is no evidence that the Covid-19 can be transmitted via either vaginal or anal intercourse. However, kissing is a very common practice and the virus can be transmitted via saliva. Therefore, the virus can be transmitted by kissing, say reports.

“There is no evidence that the Covid-19 can be transmitted via either vaginal or anal intercourse. As kissing is a very common practice during sexual intercourse, and the virus can be transmitted via saliva, hence the virus can be transmitted by kissing. Avoid kissing if your partner has recently travelled abroad. It is safe to do so after 2 weeks. There is also evidence of oral-fecal transmission of Covid-19 and that implies that analingus may be a risk factor for covid infection,” says Dr Anup Dhir surgeon and fellow of the European Committee on Sexual Medicine, Apollo Hospital.

If you or your partner is suspected of COVID-19 or shows symptoms, expert advice is to steer clear of each other as much as possible and live in different rooms till the test results.

But for people who don’t have symptoms, haven’t had any likely recent exposure and have been staying at home, and are in monogamous relationships, with no history of exposure, continuing with regular sexual activity is a great way to have fun, stay connected and relieve anxiety during this hard and stressful time, adds Dr Dir.

Leaner times for casual sex
Casual sex should be avoided. The advice at present is to stay home as much as we you can and really only interact with people for things that are essential. And even when we do that, try to keep some physical distance of about two metres from the other person. That makes casual sex a challenge which you should not try and beat.

Second to the best
All interpersonal contact has to be limited to the absolute necessity and as a result sexual intercourse may actually decrease during the next few weeks, but other forms of expressing eroticism, such as sexting, video-calls, reading erotica and masturbation can be good. Masturbation is a good option as it will not spread COVID-19, especially as you wash your hands or sex toys if you use them, ensure they are cleaned with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after.

(Aditi Roy can be contacted at aditi.r@ians.in)