Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has commented on the Dutch ‘sex buddy’ advice and intimacy in lockdown.
Dr Tony Holohan has said that people should limit themselves to one sexual partner while the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are in place.
He also commented on recommendations from Dutch officials advising people to find a ‘sex buddy’ during the lockdown, calling it ‘good public health advice.’
Speaking at the Department of Health’s Covid-19 briefing yesterday, Dr Holohan said, “On the transmission of any infection that can happen as a result of close intimate contact – that could be this infection but also applies to sexually transmitted infections generally – that is good public health advice.”
He added, “We’ve given clear advice around engagements between people between different households and the resumption of, if you like, intimate contact, close contact between people who live in different houses, that’s not part of our guidance and advice at the moment.
“There is a lot of information for people who are in those situations as to how they can manage their relationships themselves in those difficult settings.
“We know this is a challenge for people, some people have relationships who live in different houses, I live with somebody who is in that situation.
“Then some people who have relationships where just by virtue of timing and so on, they found themselves stuck in a different situation, in a different country and so on. They’ve had to do there best to maintain a relationship through all of that and that’s not easy for people.”
In March, the HSE released information on best sex practices during the coronavirus outbreak and how to minimise the risk of contracting the illness.
The full list of the HSE’s guidelines on sex during the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown restrictions can be found here.
