Four-in-ten Britons have gone without sex during lockdown – and from today it will be ILLEGAL to romp at home with someone from another household
- New regulations ban two people from different households gathering in a private place
- Medical experts say Government should be encouraging more adults to have sex
- Regular sex helps to protect older adults from heart problems and improves cognitive function
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Four-in-ten Britons haven’t had sex during lockdown and from today new guidelines will explicitly ban two people from different households gathering in a private place.
A study found that just 39.9 per cent of UK adults have been ‘sexually active’ during the coronavirus crisis as self isolation and social distancing have played havoc with love lives.
And the new coronavirus regulation says: ‘No person may participate in a gathering which takes place in a public or private place indoors, and consists of two or more persons.’
Previous regulations didn’t include wording about private places but now only those with ‘reasonable excuses’ are allowed to gather privately – and sex in a public place is already illegal.
New coronavirus guidelines will explicitly ban two people from different households gathering in a private place
Reasonable excuses include elite athletes, people attending funerals, vulnerable people, workers and separated parents seeing their children – not those looking for sex.
But according to medical experts the Government should be encouraging more adults to have sex during lockdown for the sake of their physical and mental health.
Health researchers from the universities of Anglia Ruskin and Ulster are studying how current guidelines are affecting the relationships of nearly 900 adults.
It found younger, married adults and particularly men were claiming to be having sex while those who drank alcohol were also more active in bed, they told the specialist publication The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Lead authors of the study Dr Lee Smith and Professor Mark Tully called on the government to promote sexual activity to keep older Britons in particularly healthy in both body and mind, along with advice to stay alert, social distance and wash hands regularly.
Regular sex helps to protect older adults from heart problems, improves cognitive function and generally promotes wellbeing.
According to medical experts the Government should be encouraging more adults to have sex during lockdown for the sake of their physical and mental health
Dr Smith said: ‘When starting this research we expected there to be a high level of sexual activity while social isolating at home, but interestingly we found a very low level.
‘This low level of sexual activity could be explained by people currently feeling anxious and stressed owing to the pandemic and not being in the mood to engage in the act.
‘Moreover, those who are not married or cohabiting may not currently be able to meet up with their sexual partners and similarly those who use online apps to facilitate casual sex will currently not be able to do this.
‘A lot of my previous research has shown that a frequent and trouble-free sex life is important for higher levels of enjoyment of life and general mental health, and this is particularly true for older adults.
‘However, this study showed that older adults were less likely than younger adults to engage in sexual activity.’