Reports of new cases of sexually transmitted infections have plummeted in recent weeks as coronavirus social distancing impacts sexual behaviour.  

Valeska Padovese, who runs the GU Clinic at Mater Dei Hospital, told Times of Malta that partial lockdown rules were having a noticeable impact on Malta’s sexual health.

“Up until just before the virus outbreak, the situation was quite bad, particularly with syphilis and gonorrhoea. My impression now is that people are social distancing and so casual sexual encounters are down.

“As a result, the numbers of cases at the clinic have dropped to very low levels,” she said.  

However, as restrictions have started to ease off, it seems sex is back on the menu, Padovese said, adding that this would likely result in a growth in the number of new reported cases.

The GU clinic director said that among the few who still presented with STI symptoms during the partial lockdown over the past few weeks were those who led a highly sexually active lifestyle. They would, for instance, make use of dating apps to seek out casual sexual encounters in the absence of bars and nightclubs.

Casual sexual encounters are down

During the virus outbreak, the GU clinic went into reduced operations, mainly seeing patients with symptoms but also accepting to test those worried they might have caught something.

A lot of patients do not exhibit any symptoms prior to testing so some may be infected and not aware of it, Padovese warned.

In September 2019, Times of Malta had reported that more than 500 men who requested an STI test at the clinic had admitted to having had sex with women employed in massage parlours which operate as brothels.

Padovese said that since these parlours were among the businesses ordered to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, both those who frequent the parlours and the women who work there had stopped getting STIs.  

“I don’t believe we have had a single patient from a massage parlour since they were ordered to close,” she said.

Sex work in the coronavirus age

Not all who work in the underground sex trade, however, have decided to call it quits over the last few weeks.  

One woman who works as an escort on a website listing locally available sex workers told Times of Malta that she was still working despite fears that she risked catching the virus.  

“I still do house calls, because I need to make money, I have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Plumbers and electricians are still doing house calls, so I am too,” the escort, aged 28, said.  

Asking not to be named, the woman detailed how she was largely dealing with the same handful of clients - mostly men aged in their 40s and 50s - and while she hoped these were all ‘clean’ (virus-free), she could not be certain. 

As a precaution, she said she had started carrying wet wipes and insisting on the use of condoms, but she conceded that this was not going to protect her from the virus.  

“My regulars still want to have regular sex and they have been seeing me for a long time. I do not do groups at the moment - that would be unsafe I think,” she said.  

Sex down, porn up

She has, however, noticed a dip in businesses - perhaps, she says, most potential clients are opting for pornography instead, in a bid to avoid contracting the coronavirus virus. 

Official figures supplied by Pornhub, the world’s largest pornography website, show that since the outbreak began back in March they registered a roughly 10 per cent increase in traffic from Malta compared to the same period last year.

The site’s monitoring team said this was roughly in line with the global average increase.