Sex during a pandemic can be risky. Here’s how to do it safely.
Having sex with people outside your social distancing circle can be made safer by showering before and after, avoiding contact with other bodily fluids (including kissing), and wearing a mask during sex. (Pexels/)Social distancing in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 has radically changed the way we live. But that doesn’t stop people from needing each other, in every sense of the word. This has healthcare practitioners considering how to talk to patients about an entirely new kind of safe sex. In a commentary published in early May in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, a group of doctors at Harvard Medical School highlighted the need to talk to patients about sex during COVID-19. “Given the important role of sexuality in most people’s lives, health care providers... should consider counseling patients on this topic whenever possible,” they write. “Facilitating brief conversations and referrals to relevant resources can help patients...