IMPACT OF COVID-19 HARD LOCKDOWN MEASURES ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONAL ONLINE SURVEY

J Coombe; J Goller; H Bittleston; F Yuh Shiong Kong; H Williams; J Tomnay; A Vaisey; S Malta; M Temple-Smith; L Bourchier; A Lau; E Chow; J Hocking

Conference Proceedings

IMPACT OF COVID-19 HARD LOCKDOWN MEASURES ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONAL ONLINE SURVEY

J Coombe, J Goller, H Bittleston, F Yuh Shiong Kong, H Williams, J Tomnay, A Vaisey, S Malta, M Temple-Smith, L Bourchier, A Lau, E Chow, J Hocking

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS | BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.1136/sextrans-2021-sti.222

Abstract

The residents of Victoria (Australia’s second most populous state), were subject to a hard lockdown for several months as they experienced a second wave of COVID-19. Victorians could only leave their homes for essential activities, were required to wear facemasks, remain within 5km of their homes and were subject to a nightly curfew. Elsewhere in Australia, COVID numbers remained low with no lockdown in place. We examined the impact of the lockdown on the sexual behaviour of Victorians compared with elsewhere in Australia. Our online survey was open for 2.5 weeks during the lockdown (August 13th to 31st). Participants aged 18+ were recruited via social media and asked to report on their curr..

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