B.C. health officials are recommending an age-old, occasionally cutting-edge tactic for sex during the coronavirus pandemic: “glory holes.”
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control added new recommendations for socially distant sex to its COVID-19 website this week. One of those tips was to try using a “glory hole” — a hole cut into a wall that’s only large enough for a penis to slip through.
Glory holes are typically used for anonymous oral or penetrative sex, according to Urban Dictionary, but they’re also an excellent way to limit physical contact during intercourse, the B.C. CDC says.
“Use barriers, like walls (e.g., glory holes), that allow for sexual contact but prevent close face-to-face contact,” the health organization writes on its website.
The recommendation is just a tip and not a firm rule, according to the website.
Eric Chapman and Maureen McGrath discussed this story on “The Shift.”
The site includes many other tips for reducing your risk of spreading the coronavirus during sex, such as wearing a mask, refraining from kissing, using a condom and washing your body with soap and water.
Health officials across the country have echoed most of that advice, although they haven’t said anything about glory holes.
New York City health officials hinted at using glory holes in a recent three-page document without specifically naming them.
“Be creative with sexual positions and physical barriers, like walls, that allow sexual contact while preventing close face-to-face contact,” the document said.
The B.C. guidelines recommend skipping sex if you feel sick. They also recommend taking your desires into your own hands if you’re worried about a coronavirus infection.
“You are your safest sex partner,” the B.C. CDC says. “Masturbating by yourself (solo sex) will not spread COVID-19.”
Your next-safest partner is someone you live with or a person who has only had contact with you and no one else, the B.C. CDC says.
Bonnie Henry, the province’s top doctor, echoed that advice back in May.
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“This is not the time to do rapid serial dating, OK?” Henry said at a COVID-19 briefing. “So pick somebody, see if it works and then take your time.”
Other socially distant sexual pursuits include masturbating in the same room as a partner or engaging in virtual sex.
Twitter erupted with jokes on Tuesday evening after Global News reporter Kamil Karamali shared the B.C. CDC advice.
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To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
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