With lockdown laws still in place across much of the world, forcing people to remain inside their homes, to not go and visit non-household members and to only make essential trips outside, it’s fair dinkum that people are starting to get a little restless.
The Dutch have engineered a solution to alleviate and de-stress its nationals (and let’s be honest, who else would it be) by telling them to find a “seksbuddy”. We don’t think any translation is needed there.
As reported by The Guardian, the new measures, implemented over the weekend, recommend those without a fellow sheet-shuffler, go above and beyond to find someone else in a similar situation and come to a mutually beneficial arrangement, quickly.
The Netherlands has actually been one of the countries to not go as strict as some others, allowing its residents to have up to three other people in their home since lockdown was introduced on March the 23rd, just as long as they keep to a social distance when inside. That’s obviously not feasible or ergonomic when it comes to bedroom antics, and so the Government has said they can now find one partner to see out the rest of the lockdown with.
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The official comments still come with guidelines, however, as they ask nationals to: “…meet with the same person to have physical or sexual contact (for example, a cuddle buddy or ‘sex buddy’), provided you are free of illness.”
“Make good arrangements with this person about how many other people you both see. The more people you see, the greater the chance of (spreading) the coronavirus.”
The above implies the Government wants its residents to keep their number of ‘seksbuddies’ to just one, but it also doesn’t place a restriction on it. And while we all know people love a loophole (so if distancing and good hygiene are maintained, then there could be no limit to the number of ‘seksual’ partners one can have) the responsible thing to do – and what could be a smart model to be followed the world over, at least for the time being – is to follow the guidelines and find your lucky one…
We don’t have official numbers to draw from, but dating apps have all seen a surge in usage in the past few months as people are no longer able to meet someone else out in the real world. The more matches and conversations that are destined to lead further can now be taken advantage of…in the Netherlands, at least.
For those already well seen to, as it were, before the lockdown laws were implemented (and to an extent, those who have yet to meet), the Dutch Government has advised them from not engaging in bedroom fun if one of them has had to spend two weeks in isolation due to a possible infection (and perhaps for some time after it was discovered the COVID-19 disease could be present in semen).
Instead, the Government advises people in this situation to have “Sex with yourself or with others at a distance is possible (think of telling erotic stories, masturbating together).” It’s certainly one way to get to know someone before you really get to know them.
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The Dutch, who are so often touted as an (inspirational) beacon of craziness, could now be seen as a model country to people around the globe and the recent guidelines could be adopted by other nations as a way to encourage safer sex (while also treating citizens like adults) during this time. It would certainly be a suitable compromise, we’re sure.
As for whether it actually will change the way single people date in the future remains to be seen, as ‘exclusive’ relationships are already commonplace. In Australia, restrictions have begun easing, with people now free to gather in groups of up to 10 outside and up to five inside the home.
Of course, if our sex-starved singles begin making up for the lost time by jumping from bed to bed and a second wave of the virus is introduced into the country, the chastity belts will have to be rolled out.
At the time of writing, The Netherlands has reported 43,995 positive cases and 5,680 deaths as the country claims it is beginning to control the spread of the virus.
When in The Netherlands.