No Sex for 1 Month for Coronavirus Survivors, Says Study

You've gone through the pain and fear of catching the coronavirus, you're finally clear, you're feeling fresh, frisky, and ready to tumble into the sheets with your loved one— only to find out you now have to wait at least 30 days before having sex. 

That's right, a whole month of abstinence. Based on a Chinese study, experts from Thailand are warning people to hold off being intimate as there is a high chance the virus can also spread through semen. 

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

SEE ALSO: MEDICAL DETECTION DOGS COULD ASSIST COVID-19 TESTING BY SNIFFING 750 PEOPLE PER HOUR

Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder

The saying doesn't quite go like that, but it may have to do in this scenario. 

Veerawat Manosutthi, a senior medical expert at the Thai Disease Control Department, suggested that steering clear of sex for at least 30 days after someone has recovered from the coronavirus may help to curb its spread, as per Business Insider.

The findings from the Chinese study took samples of semen from 38 men with COVID-19 in China's Henan province. The first samples were taken on January 26, and the second batch on February 16. The researchers analyzed the samples and discovered that 16% of the men in the survey had traces of COVID-19 in their semen. 

No sex for a month, Thai disease expert claims - more at https://t.co/WoZHXaa5gV #Thailand
Coronavirus survivors should wait a month before they get 'intimate'. At least that's what one Thai medical expert is saying. No sex for 30 days. For some, that may be worse than 14 day... pic.twitter.com/240QSuGHol

— The Thaiger (@ThaigerNews) May 15, 2020

It's still unsure whether or not the illness itself can be sexually transmitted, but the study warns that it's best to be safe than sorry. The study pointed out "The presence of viruses in semen may be more common than currently understood, and traditional nonsexually transmitted viruses should not be assumed to be totally absent in genital secretions."

Principally spread through droplets of saliva, the coronavirus hasn't yet been confirmed to be passed on through semen. The JAMA study pointed out that traces of the virus in semen could be there because of the imperfect barrier between the bloodstream and the section where semen is made in the testicles. So the virus may have 'jumped' from the blood to the semen. 

So it looks like COVID-19 survivors need to stay confined in other ways once they're recovered. 

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