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Masturbation, sex toys and multiple partners: Emails show how the HSE drafted its Covid-19 sex guidelines

The guidelines were drafted late in March after a radio interview by the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer.

OFFICIAL GUIDELINES ON sexual activity and Covid-19 were prompted by a radio interview in which the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer said there was no expectation on the public to stop being “intimate” while travel restrictions remained in place.

Documents released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act reveal how the health service’s sexual health unit drafted the advice alongside the Gay Health Network and HIV Ireland.

The guidelines on sex during the outbreak, which can be read here, were published in March on Sexualwellbeing.ie, the HSE’s official portal for advice about sex.

They include information on safe sex practices and how to minimise the risk of contracting Covid-19 while sexually active.

Although there is no evidence that coronavirus can be sexually transmitted, officials issued the advice because Covid-19 can be passed on through close contact with someone who has the virus.

The HSE warns that being sexually active with another person involves some risk of getting the virus, particularly if a sexual partner is asymptomatic.

Internal HSE emails show that officials took the decision to draft the guidance after Dr Colm Henry told the Brendan O’Connor show on RTÉ Radio 1 that partners were not expected to stop all aspects of their lives while living under Covid-19 restrictions.

In an interview on 21 March, Henry said:

People must continue to live their lives with the people they love in whatever format that takes We expect people, most of the time, for over 80% of the time to keep their social distancing.
We don’t expect people to stop all aspects of their lives, be it intimate, or not. This could be a marathon not a sprint and we have to bring people along with us.

Two days after the interview, an email sent by Maeve O’Brien of the HSE’s Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) suggested the creation of the guidelines and specifically referenced Henry’s comments.  

“I know you probably haven’t got a spare second to think, but there has been a bit of interest in this guidance published by New York City Health Department, and some comments made by Colm Henry at the weekend re intimacy,” she wrote on 23 March.

“I wonder, if we were to draft something similar and reference the sources of the evidence, would this be something you would be able to approve?”

Subsequent correspondence reveals that the HSE also felt it necessary to draft the advice after sex workers contacted the SHCPP requesting guidance about sexual activity during the pandemic.

New York guidelines

The first draft of the guidelines was largely based on information contained in previous advice issued by New York City’s health department, according to the correspondence.

The American advice was largely unchanged in that draft, and included information about how Covid-19 spreads, engaging in sexual activity alone, in living units and online, as well as specific advice about sexual activities.

One piece of advice, some of which was retained by the HSE in its final publication, reads:

You are your safest sex partner. Masturbation will not spread COVID-19, especially if you wash your hands (and any sex toys) with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after sex.

It also advised that having close contact, including sex, with only a small circle of people helped prevent the virus from spreading.

Another piece of the US advice used by the HSE in a draft provided guidance on the number of partners someone could have sex with outside their living unit.

“If you do have sex with people outside your household, limit to as few partners as possible,” an early draft of the HSE advice reads. This line was subsequently deleted before final publication.

The advice from the New York City health department also contained guidance on kissing (“avoid kissing anyone who is not part of your small circle of close contacts”), rimming (“virus in feces may enter your mouth”) and the use of condoms or dental dams during oral sex, all of which were subsequently used in the HSE’s advice.

Changes to drafts

Meanwhile, concerns were raised by officials that the HSE’s initial drafts contained no reference to consent or the inability of HIV treatment PrEP to protect against Covid-19.

“I think the consent message should be very visible in all our messaging, especially at a time like this when people are more secluded, when emotions are heightened and vulnerabilities more exposed,” Moira Germaine, Education and Training Manager at the SHCPP wrote on 24 March.

Later drafts subsequently added reference to consent, with the HSE’s website stating that sexual activity should only ever be between consenting adults who have a legal capacity to make the decision.

Information that PrEP or HIV treatment did not protect against coronavirus was also added to the second draft of the guidelines, after the idea was raised by a member of the Gay Health Network.

“There is some anecdotal evidence that men in PrEP or HIV treatment may think that it gives them some protection. Perhaps including some clarification on this too,” the group’s secretary Bill Foley said.

Further external correspondence also reveals how the HSE sought reviews of the guidance from the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and the Health Surveillance Protection Centre (HSPC).

In an identical email to both groups, the HSE said it had concerns that all public STI clinics were closed, that NGOs had been seeking advice from the health service and the GPs were likely to be inundated so providing sex advice may not be possible.

“We are of the view that guidance for the public on do’s and don’ts around sex and Covid-19 plus information on the public clinic closures… will help to inform public decision-making around sexual activity and reduce health risks in the current climate,” it read.

The guidelines later went live on 30 March, and are available to read on the HSE’s website.

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41 Comments
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    Mute Dermot Quinn
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    May 5th 2020, 12:17 AM

    Well theres the topic for Joe Duffy tomorrow.

    388
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    Mute Grainnewhale
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    May 5th 2020, 12:24 AM

    @Dermot Quinn: Can’t wait!

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    Mute Cormac Laffan
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    May 5th 2020, 12:33 AM

    “It also advised that having close contact, including sex, with only a small circle of people helped prevent the virus from spreading.”
    I’ve been doing lockdown wrong..

    446
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    Mute Aonghus OReilly
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    May 5th 2020, 1:07 AM

    @Cormac Laffan: no Cormac, you can still keep pulling your plum

    118
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    Mute Joe Toner
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    May 5th 2020, 7:30 AM

    @Aonghus OReilly: It is now referred to as “Polishing your Rocket”… Plum pulling is way out of fashion.

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    May 5th 2020, 8:41 AM

    @Cormac Laffan: Form a circle ..

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    Mute James Hayes
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    May 5th 2020, 12:32 AM

    Some say you have to be in close contact for a minimum of 5 minutes, 30 seconds is my record…

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    May 5th 2020, 8:46 AM

    @James Hayes: Does that include getting undressed? Asking for a friend.

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    Mute Arch Angel
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    May 5th 2020, 2:01 PM

    @James Hayes: As ridiculous as this appears I know of someone in a relationship with a nurse, he shares a house with several other people who are, let’s say, not as well educated about Covid-19 and how it’s transmitted as they’d like to believe.
    One missed a family funeral and seems to be projecting any guilt he has about this onto my friend, basically blaming him for being in a relationship with a nurse. He has demanded to be told where my friend goes when he leaves the house and also demanded that, if my friend wishes to continue living there, he cannot continue to have a relationship with a nurse.
    He has threatened to ‘report’ both my friend and his girlfriend for taking a walk together and… I can hardly bring myself to say it, kissing. Oh, the shame. The irony is that this idiot is a solicitor.
    I appreciate that some people are, justifiably, afraid of Covid-19, they are genuinely missing out on family funerals, like this individual, however when they’re threatening people for being in a relationship with nurses, that’s crossing a line.

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    May 5th 2020, 2:45 PM

    @Arch Angel: As an old neighbour used to say “there are more horse’s asses in this country, than there are horses”

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    Mute Chief Buck Cat
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    May 5th 2020, 12:33 AM

    ‘Straight in, no kissing’

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    Mute James Hayes
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    May 5th 2020, 12:36 AM

    @Chief Buck Cat: well it’s not personal if there’s no kissing..

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    Mute Shamey
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    May 5th 2020, 3:45 AM

    Well that’s the bedroom sorted. Next up, the kitchen. It is highly advisable to have only one bottle of wine open at a time. However if your partner is also drinking, the advice is for them to open a separate bottle to reduce the risk of getting the virus….if you are a whiskey drinker the advice is to drink it neat as this reduces the amount of surfaces to be touched.
    Contact details for AA and St. John of Gods are at the bottom of the page.

    124
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    Mute Dino
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    May 5th 2020, 7:56 AM

    I don’t know what is worse, the fact so much money is wasted in the hse on this type of thing or that investigative journalism has come to this? Its hardly watergate!

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    Mute Damien Hawe
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    May 5th 2020, 2:32 PM

    @Dino: you think this is a waste of money?

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    Mute Princess J.
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    May 5th 2020, 1:59 AM

    Wow…emails show a trail of decision making.. u get that…
    Or have I totally missed the scope here??

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    Mute Marty H
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    May 5th 2020, 7:21 AM

    So Pamela and her 5 sisters it is then

    32
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    Mute Cosmological
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    May 5th 2020, 7:03 AM

    No rimming, I’m devastated, what is rimming anyway?

    34
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    Mute David Dineen
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    May 5th 2020, 7:52 AM

    @Cosmological: it’s when you clean the Jack’s with cleaners

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    Mute Seamus Brady
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    May 5th 2020, 8:52 AM

    @Cosmological: or a dental dam, I’m way out of touch

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    May 5th 2020, 9:56 AM

    @Cosmological: I think it’s the practice of running a wet finger around the rim of a wine glass and creating a musical sound. I am open to contradiction on this.

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    Mute Marty H
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    May 5th 2020, 10:15 AM

    @Cosmological: it’s just for lick asses really

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    Mute Cosmological
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    May 5th 2020, 12:23 PM

    @Joe Toner:
    Good one

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    Mute Jmc
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    May 5th 2020, 12:53 AM

    That’s it send in bendy all the way you be fine in 3 minutes lol

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    Mute Adam Conroy
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    May 5th 2020, 9:37 AM

    Good to see that hard-hitting investigative journalism isn’t dead.

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    Mute ThatLJD
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    May 5th 2020, 12:31 AM

    I’d have read that cover to cover only any glossy mags /documents are somehow sealed shut on the house!

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    Mute Charles Coughlan
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    May 5th 2020, 5:38 AM

    Anything more than a shake, no wait…….

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    Mute Seamus Mac
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    May 5th 2020, 9:48 AM

    Nanny state alive & well

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    Mute Louise B
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    May 5th 2020, 1:36 AM

    Surely we all feel “screw it” or just screw it?

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    Mute Tony O Neill
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    May 5th 2020, 12:34 AM

    Maybe a blow up sex doll would be safe ?

    42
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    Mute Cormac Laffan
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    May 5th 2020, 7:05 AM

    @Tony O Neill: My one has a puncture, keeps going down on me.

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    May 5th 2020, 7:47 AM

    @Cormac Laffan: Down with this sort of thing!

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    Mute Aaron Luke
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    May 5th 2020, 8:05 AM

    @Tony O Neill: check the box first mate to ensure it’s not made in China . You may have to wear a raincoat .

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    May 5th 2020, 8:43 AM

    @Cormac Laffan: Don’t return it. They will try to charge you extra ..

    4
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    Mute Cormac Laffan
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    May 5th 2020, 10:05 AM

    @Logan Shepherd: Found a gash so I put a plaster on, still nothing..

    5
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    Mute Shamey
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    May 5th 2020, 3:33 AM

    Well that’s the bedroom sorted. Next up, the kitchen. It is highly advisable to have only one bottle of wine at a time to reduce the risk of contracting the virus. However for those cocooning, there are no restrictions. The contact details for AA and St. John of Gods are at the bottom of this page……

    8
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    Mute Stan Kowalskis
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    May 5th 2020, 7:57 AM

    Giggedy giggedy goo

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    Mute Jon Boylan
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    May 5th 2020, 11:01 AM

    Hey – don’t knock it – at least its sex with someone you love.

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    Mute Princess J.
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    May 6th 2020, 8:33 PM

    Sure don’t you know – regular masterbation is a natural immune super power – Improves all aspects of the body to help fight off infections – get with it folks – update the document so people can get going on it!

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    Mute David Jones
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    May 5th 2020, 5:28 PM

    Well, that’s my week-end sorted then…

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    Mute JoyMonkey
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    May 5th 2020, 10:44 PM

    I’ll never be able to ungoogle “dental dams”.

    1
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