COVID UK: Sex No Longer Illegal for Non-Cohabiting Couples, But Casual Sex Still Forbidden

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Victoria Friedman

It is no longer prohibited under British coronavirus laws to have sex with someone you do not live with as long as you are in an “established relationship” — but recently-updated guidelines suggest that casual sex is still forbidden.

The small print of the Conservative government’s coronavirus law made headlines in June when technically, having sex with someone you did not live with constituted a “gathering”. Lawyers began to debate the amended COVID laws which banned households mixing, with one pointing out inviting a prostitute to your house for sex may be permissible, as they are travelling for work purposes.

Quietly added to new regulations last week and reported on by the Metro on Tuesday, the government guidance now reads:

You do not need to socially distance from anyone in your household, meaning the people you live with. You also do not need to socially distance from someone you’re in an established relationship with, or anyone in your legally-permitted support bubble if you are in one.

Otherwise, “when with people you do not live with, you should also avoid: physical contact; being close and face-to-face”, as well as “shouting or singing close to them”.

The government also told adult Britons they should not be “touching things that other people have touched”.

One famous case of breaking lockdown laws earlier this year drew the attention of the whole nation, after the architect of the UK’s restrictions, Imperial College’s Professor and government science advisor Neil Ferguson, was revealed to have broken his own rules by allowing his married mistress to travel to his home twice when lockdown rules were at their most strict.

Professor Ferguson then resigned his government post. Days later, police said that they would not be charging the scientist with breaking his own rules, merely calling the incident “disappointing”. At the time, British police were being criticised for their otherwise heavy-handed approach to enforcing lockdown rules on ordinary Britons.

The UK may see a return to strict policing after the government reimposed new measures in recent weeks, including limiting social groups to six and bringing in a pubs curfew of 10 pm. Fines have also been imposed for those breaking quarantine if they have a positive result for coronavirus, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying that the police would “come down hard on people who do the wrong thing”.

Britons appear to be keen to help the new British police state, with sources telling media that their non-emergency number has been flooded with reports of neighbouring snitching on each other over alleged breaches.

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