SEX & THE SPLITTY

Coronavirus Scotland: Couples separated by lockdown should be allowed to meet for sex, health expert says

COUPLES who live apart should be allowed to meet for sex as lockdown is relaxed, a public health expert says.

Professor Linda Bauld’s plea came as Nicola Sturgeon is set to say pals can meet outdoors.

Professor Bauld says sex-starved couples separated by lockdown must be told when they can start hooking up again.

She insisted intimate contact between lovers living in different homes can’t be avoided indefinitely.

And she urged Nicola Sturgeon to signal when intimacy will get the green light — as it’s “unrealistic” to expect those in a relationship to stay two metres apart.

Her call came as the Scottish Government looks set to begin easing social-distancing restrictions from tomorrow.

Prof Bauld, of Edinburgh University, said: “I’m particularly concerned about young people and young adults.

“It’s all well and good for us of middle age — people made decisions about whether they move in with their partner or not.

“But when you’re in your younger years, they’ve been so badly affected, and I do think that this needs a lot of further thought.

“From a public health perspective, as we move forward, I would hope the guidance would be that intimate relationships could restart.

“But we limit that to the person we have regular intimate contact with, even if they’re not resident with us.”

Phase one of the First Minister’s route map out of lockdown is expected to be confirmed on Thursday.

It could include lifting a ban on meeting friends and family from other households — meaning couples who live apart will finally be able to see each other in the flesh.

But they’ll only be allowed to get together outdoors and must always keep two metres between them.

Scottish Government national clinical director Jason Leitch has previously said social-distancing measures will remain in place for the foreseeable future in the absence of a Covid vaccine or treatment.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, a caller named Sarah, 25, told how the rule change means she will soon be able to meet her boyfriend — but only on a “look not touch basis”.

In response, Prof Bauld said: “I think it is unrealistic for young people not to have any physical or intimate contact with particularly a long-term partner that you can’t live with for the next period of months until we’re a little bit more confident about where we are.

“I think for young people seeing their boyfriends or girlfriends as we go forward, we cannot avoid that, we cannot deny them that.

“And as long as it can be dealt with within the system, that is the key thing.”

Phase two of the Government’s guidance, which won’t come into effect until June 18 at the earliest, would let people from different households gather indoors — but “physical distancing” would still be in place.

The third phase, due to have been reached by August 11 when schools return, also emphasises that we shouldn’t get too close.

Prof Bauld warned many couples would have flouted the restrictions already and stressed that those who do get intimate must declare their relationship to test, trace and isolate officials if one of them catches Covid-19.

Calling for “clear guidance”, she added: “There is no real mention of what you do with intimate relationships with people you don’t live with. As far as I can see, there is no guidance on this.

“So they need to answer this question now: what do non-resident couples do?”

Prof Bauld also urged singles going on dates not to sleep around with several partners due to the risk of the virus spreading.

She added: “There’s dating and then there’s dating.

“Lots of frequent contacts is probably not the kind of thing we want to be doing at this time.

“If you’re going to have an intimate relationship with someone you haven’t seen for a while, just stick to that person because then you’re restricting multiple household contact.

“From a viral perspective, but also for general sexual health practice, that’s the kind of advice we should give anyway.

“But we can’t all be holed up in our cave for the next six months — it’s simply not realistic.”

Ms Sturgeon previously admitted she was “aware of the particular difficulties and challenges” facing couples due to the two-metre rule.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “For this next phase we will still be asking for people in different households who are meeting up to do so outside and stay two metres apart.

“But in trying to give general advice, we are mindful of the circumstances that particular individuals or family units will be in and also the circumstances of the shielding group.

“As we try to develop this advice, we cannot make policy for every individual situation, but we are very mindful of the need to take account of different situations and will continue to be as we move forward.”

christine.lavelle@ the-sun.co.uk