"We know this is a challenge for people."

People should limit themselves to one sexual partner during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Tony Holohan has said. The HSE's Chief Medical Officer said yesterday that only having one sexual partner is "good health advice" as this will restrict the transmission of the virus, as well as other infections. “On the transmission of any infection that can happen as a result of close intimate contact - that could be this infection but also applies to sexually transmitted infections generally - that is good public health advice," he said. This comes after people in The Netherlands were encouraged to find a "sex buddy" during lockdown to limit the spread of coronavirus, despite being told to keep a 1.5m distance when visiting others in their homes. Dr Holohan, however, did not confirm that partners living in different households could resume sexual contact. "We've given clear advice around engagements between people between different households and the resumption of, if you like, intimate contact," he said. "That's not part of our guidance and advice at the moment (...) We know this is a challenge for people. Some people have relationships who live in different houses. "They've had to do their best to maintain a relationship through all of that, and that's not easy for people." A further eight people died from coronavirus in Ireland yesterday. The death toll now stands at 1,658.