We have previously talked about various guidelines from avoiding kiss while sex or other tips to take care of your sexual health whilst successfully avoid getting coronavirus during the pandemic. The questions have changed to when can we have sex after testing covid positive. And if you are the lucky ones that have gotten their vaccine jab and wondering when is the right time to, roll in the hay, this article is for you.

Sex and Coronavirus

All close contact (within 6 feet or 2 meters) with an infected person can expose you to the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) — whether you're engaged in sexual activity or not.

At times people don’t show any symptoms of having the virus and are asymptomatic, due to this, it is best to refrain from having sexual relations with someone who does not live with you. If you or your partner aren't feeling good or suspect you have COVID-19, don't kiss or have sex until you're both feeling better.

Sex after COVID-19 Recovery

You've survived the coronavirus, you're in a good mood, and now you have to wait 30 days for sex. Since recovering from COVID-19, experts advise people to avoid intimacy — anything from kissing to full intercourse.

Sex after testing positive for COVID 19

If you have tested positive for COVID 19, and your partner has not, a 14-day quarantine is a must. When a person with the virus coughs, sneezes or speaks, respiratory droplets are released. These droplets may be inhaled or fall in someone else's mouth or nose. Kissing or other sexual practices that come into contact with a person's spit may expose you to the virus. COVID-19 infected people may also transmit respiratory droplets to their skin and personal belongings. By touching these surfaces and then touching his or her mouth, nose, or eyes, a sexual partner could contract the virus. Furthermore, the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted by coming into contact with feces. It's possible to contract the COVID-19 virus through sexual activity that exposes you to feces.

However if both you and your partner have tested positive for the virus, you are probably safe to have sex as long as you continue to follow preventive protection guidelines to protect yourself and others.

How long does the virus stay in your body?

The length of time the virus stays in the body is determined by the individual and the seriousness of the illness. People who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate themselves, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for up to 20 days, if they are severely ill.

However, the virus may live in the body, at low levels, for up to three months after being diagnosed. This could result in certain patients receiving a second positive test result after they have recovered, but this does not necessarily suggest the virus is still contagious.

Sex Post Recovery

Ideally, a longer period (of about 30 days) should pass before you have sex with someone. Despite a report published last year that concluded COVID-19 is not sexually transmitted due to the fact that no evidence of the virus was detected in patient semen samples, a newer study published only a month later indicates the exact opposite. The latest research, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, discovered that COVID-19 traces were present in semen samples.

The research examined sperm samples from 38 male COVID-19 patients in China's Henan province and found traces of the virus in 16% of the samples.

In Thailand, survivors of the coronavirus are advised to wait at least a month after healing from the virus before having sex. According to Thai news outlet Khaosod English, Veerawat Manosutthi, a senior medical expert at the Thai Disease Control Department, a Chinese study warns that semen may carry the coronavirus.

Can Coronavirus be transmitted through semen?

Speaking to Khaosod English, Manosutthi said: "Those who believe themselves to be free of the virus should use condoms when having sex. "Kissing should also be avoided as it is also known that it can spread through the mouth."

Although the existence of the virus in semen does not necessarily mean COVID-19 can be sexually transmitted, the researchers in the most recent study still advise patients to take precautions. “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,” the study’s authors wrote.

The novel coronavirus is primarily transmitted by saliva droplets, although it is unknown if the virus replicates in men's testicles. According to the JAMA report, traces of the virus may have been found in semen due to a weak barrier between the bloodstream and the part of the testicles where semen is generated. The virus may have entered the semen through the bloodstream rather than being replicated in the testicles, according to the authors.

In the meantime, doctors recommend waiting after you've recovered from the infection before having sex and using a condom if you do. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Sex and COVID 19 vaccine

Although governments around the world have announced several prevention measures and begun mass vaccination campaigns to combat the deadly coronavirus, many people remain skeptical of the vaccine's efficacy and side effects.

How long must one abstain from unprotected sex after getting the vaccine?

Health experts had advised volunteers who took part in Covaxin's Phase III clinical trials to use a condom while having sexual intercourse for three months. The recruitment criteria for male volunteers with reproductive potentials advised, "Use of condoms to ensure effective contraception with the female partner and to refrain from sperm donation from first vaccination until at least 3 months after the last vaccination."

Medical experts agree that the requirement in the clinical trial to use a condom for sex after vaccination is self-explanatory, implying that there could be an unknown adverse effect on the fetus or the fertilization method. According to experts, vaccine recipients with reproductive ability should avoid direct sex with partners for 3 to 12 weeks.

Side effects on Fetus

SARS-CoV2 is a novel virus, according to Dr Deepak Verma, internal medicine, Columbia Asia Hospital, Ghaziabad, and the vaccine is produced to neutralize it. However, it is too early to tell if the vaccine has any long-term side effects or whether they affect a man and a woman who have sexual relations. However, the doctor emphasized that, in the present case, "prevention is the best safeguard".

The government of India has prohibited pregnant and lactating mothers from taking the COVID 19 vaccine, but there is no warning about sexual activity after vaccination.

Dr. Mohammad Shameem, Professor of Interventional Pulmonology at Aligarh Muslim University's Department of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, agrees with other experts that the long-term vaccine side effects are unknown. He said, "I agree that it is better if the beneficiaries who are in the reproductive age can take precaution."