The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a guide for Americans on how they can have safe sex even if they are infected with monkeypox.
Smallpox is a pathogen that spreads through close personal contact with an infected person or the sheets with which they have been in contact. The CDC says people with monkeypox can still have active and satisfying sex lives with activities such as virtual sex, tandem masturbation, and frequent hand washing.
The CDC issued guidelines on how to have safe sex with the monkey’s smallpox, including keeping clothes on during the act and masturbating 6 feet apart.
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“Have contactless virtual sex in person,” says one of the points in the CDC guide. “Masturbating together at a distance of at least 6 feet, without touching and without touching any rash or sores.”
The guide also says people may consider “having sex with their clothes on” or covering infected areas with clothing to limit skin-to-skin contact. (RELATED: WHO will change Monkeypox’s name after allegations that the name is racist)
In addition, sexually active smallpox patients should avoid kissing and “washing their hands, fetish equipment, sex toys and any tissue” after performing the act, the agency said.
Finally, they recommend limiting the number of sexual partners a person has while they are infected.
Researchers believe the outbreak of smallpox in the West has been largely driven by gay men. So far, 100 cases have been confirmed in the United States, according to the CDC.