Dutch singles advised to find a lockdown sex buddy to fulfil 'basic needs' - in contrast to UK's policy
The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on how people around the world are finding love - with a natural rise in virtual dating.
However, Dutch singles are being advised to arrange a sex buddy to fulfil “basic needs” during the remainder of the pandemic.
Official guidance from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands is now encouraging men and women without permanent partners to choose a likeminded individual they can get intimate with in a mutually-beneficial arrangement.
However, they warn that those organising a “seksbuddy” need to be aware of the risks of spreading the virus.
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The RIVM recommend: “Discuss how best to do this together.
“For example, meet with the same person to have physical or sexual contact (for example, a cuddle buddy or ‘sex buddy’), provided you are free of illness.
“Make good arrangements with this person about how many other people you both see. The more people you see, the greater the chance of (spreading) the coronavirus.”
Additionally, they advise against having sex with someone isolated because of suspected infection.
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As a substitute, they suggest: “Sex with yourself or with others at a distance is possible (think of telling erotic stories, masturbating together).”
On March 23rd, the Netherlands - who have seen far fewer cases than the UK - entered what it described as an “intelligent lockdown”, where up to three visitors are allowed into other people’s homes as long as they maintained a 1.5m distance at all times.
The RIVM’s rules effectively made it impossible for those not in the same household to engage in sexual intercourse - something described by critics as a “basic need”.
Writing for Dutch newspaper Het Parool, journalist Linda Duits - who specialises in gender issues - argued that: “Proximity and physical contact are not a luxury, they are basic needs.
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“If we have learned anything from the Aids epidemic, it is that not having sex is not an option.”
The new recommendation comes in contrast to the UK who have continued to forbid people - single or otherwise - to have visitors to their homes.
Last week, the government announced that individuals could meet up with one other person from outside their household outdoors, as long as they kept a 2m distance.
At the start of lockdown, deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries suggested that couples who are dating, but currently living apart, “should test the strength of their relationship and decide whether one wishes to be permanently resident in another household”.
