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Sex, Kissing, Sweat, Stool & the Coronavirus

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My son and I share a kiss; Deandrea & David Hamilton

#Caribbean – August 15, 2020 – Maybe it is not the flouting of health protocols announced to fend off COVID-19 which is causing its alarming spike; what if it were the sweet kisses and passionate sex we share with our loved ones or lovers that is responsible for the dramatic increase? 

Research bears out that COVID-19 is contained and spread in saliva and sweat. 

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Magnetic Media found that a Mayo Clinic doctor is among those who have explored this curiosity and answered the questions about sex, kissing, sweat, stool and the coronavirus.

“Coming into contact with a person’s spit through kissing or other sexual activities could expose you to the virus. People who have COVID-19 could also spread respiratory droplets onto their skin and personal belongings. A sexual partner could get the virus by touching these surfaces and then touching his or her mouth, nose or eyes. In addition, the COVID-19 virus can spread through contact with feces. It’s possible that you could get the COVID-19 virus from sexual activities that expose you to fecal matter,” said Dr. William F. Marshall III, Mayo Clinic.

Dr. William Marshall III – Infectious Disease Specialist & Internist Mayo Clinic

One report from China even confirmed that COVID-19 was found in the semen of men who had recovered from the infection, but that fact does not mean, at least not that any study has found, that sexual intercourse itself spreads the novel coronavirus.

“There is currently no evidence that the COVID-19 virus is transmitted through semen or vaginal fluids, but the virus has been detected in the semen of people who have or are recovering from the virus. Further research is needed to determine if the COVID-19 virus could be transmitted sexually,” reported Dr. Marshall.

So, sweating bodies have been banned from clashing on courts in high contact sports, but nobody in our islands is talking about the sweaty bodies which engage in that other, far more popular, close contact sport called ‘sex’.

The Turks and Caicos Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nadia Astwood, in a press conference on Friday informed that interviews with coronavirus positive patients are not getting distinct information on how, precisely the COVID-19 virus was contracted.

Contact tracing has also been problematic, worldwide. 

Some positive patients refuse to be forthcoming with where they have been and with whom.  Perhaps the lack of enlightenment stems from the determination to keep what is hidden in the shadows, discreetly tucked away there.

Bottom line is people cheat and our islands are not exempt from this behavior, which in our post COVID-19 world, carries an even more reprehensible weight. Dr. Marshall addressed men and women with multiple sex partners.

“If you are sexually active with someone outside of your household, consider these precautions to reduce your risk of getting the COVID-19 virus:

  • Minimize the number of sexual partners you have.
  • Avoid sex partners who have symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Avoid kissing.
  • Avoid sexual behaviors that have a risk of fecal-oral transmission or that involve semen or urine.
  • Use condoms and dental dams during oral and anal sex.
  • Wear a mask during sexual activity.
  • Wash your hands and shower before and after sexual activity.
  • Wash sex toys before and after using them.
  • Use soap or alcohol wipes to clean the area where you have sexual activity.
Dental Dam

A mask during sex?  Clean the sex spot with alcohol?  And some may wonder, what in the world is a dental dam?

The Mayo Clinic infectious disease specialist had other advice about sex, kissing, sweat and stool including how couples and individuals should consider altering their method of getting sexual satisfaction, while maintaining intimacy.

“The safest type of sexual activity during the COVID-19 pandemic is masturbation. Be sure to wash your hands and any sex toys used, both before and after masturbating. You might also consider engaging in sexual activity with partners via text, photos or videos, ideally using an encrypted platform to provide privacy protection.

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Beyond sex, there are other ways to create or maintain intimacy with a partner at a distance. Go on virtual dates together, share music you enjoy, write letters to one another or dress up for each other. Be creative.”

Although it is not spelled out by health officials, we are reminded by this and other doctors that a six-feet distance between ourselves and others is a sure-fire way to steer clear of COVID-19.

“Since some people who have COVID-19 show no symptoms, it’s important to keep distance between yourself and others if the COVID-19 virus is spreading in your community. This includes avoiding sexual contact with anybody who doesn’t live with you. If you or your partner isn’t feeling well or think you might have COVID-19, don’t kiss or have sex with each other until you’re both feeling better. Also, if you or your partner is at higher risk of serious illness with COVID-19 due to an existing chronic condition, you might want to avoid sex.”

The article at MayoClinic.Org was posted on June 16, 2020 and starts with, what I believe is the ideal way to conclude my story.

“All close contact (within 6 feet or 2 meters) with an infected person can expose you to the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) — whether you’re engaged in sexual activity or not.”

Our spike in cases of COVID-19 may not all come from what we do when we are vertical and the people we do not dare to touch; instead it could actually be emanating from our horizontal pastimes and through the cherished relationships with the people we care about most.

Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.

Caribbean News

Guyana to build regional food hub

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Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

 

#Guyana, September 29, 2023 – Guyana is making moves to become the primary food production center for the Caribbean, going ahead with plans to develop a USD$14 million regional food hub.

In fact, as reported by the Observer, the facility has already been identified on the country’s Soesdyke /Linden Highway.

Guyana seems to really want this to become a reality and Zulfikar Mustapha, Agriculture Minister, expressed this, highlighting what Guyana has over its Caribbean sister Islands.

“We want Guyana to be the food hub, the primary production hub of the Caribbean so that we could supply the Caribbean.  What we have, our colleagues in the Caribbean don’t have.  We have arable flat land and abundant fresh water,” he said, adding that with the multi-million dollar US investment, the country can, “modernise the infrastructure, and start ramping up the productions.”

Also, the Agriculture Minister pointed out that the project is geared to make for a more competitive local Agriculture industry as well as developing high-yielding varieties, pest-resistant and climate-resilient varieties.

Additionally, in the facility’s development, Guyana, Mustapha said, will work with Belize.

In fact, with more on Belize’s involvement, Dr. Ashni Singh,  Finance Minister, informed that the Government is in talks with the Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley about sourcing inputs from northern Brazil and transporting them through Guyana to Barbados and vice versa.

Singh also reportedly revealed that the project will help develop the growing logistics industry in Guyana.

Considering regional food import cost, with this development, Guyana is the leading Caribbean Community country pushing ahead with plans to reduce the multi-billion dollar regional food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, the Observer says.

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Caribbean News

Cayman makes striking policy change to include more blood donors

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Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

 

#CaymanIslands, September 29, 2023 – The Cayman Islands overturned a policy that banned blood donation from people who visited the island from or resided in countries where “mad cow disease” existed. This was revealed by Sabrina Turner, Health Minister in Parliament, as reported by CNW Network.

People who resided in Britain from 1980 to 2001 and those who had blood transfusions in the UK after 1980, can now donate blood.

Due to recent risk evaluation, and the current protocol for blood donors, many nations, CNW reports, have re-evaluated and adjusted similar guidelines regarding blood donation, as Cayman Islands has now done.

The now initial restrictions on blood donations for the country was called for and was important as at the time of implementation, “mad cow disease” or as it’s scientifically called, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), was at-large affecting not just cows, but also people, who are able to contract “a version of BSE called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD),” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says.

The likely reason for the Cayman Islands’ targeted population of those affiliated with living in the UK or getting blood transfusion in the UK, was because most of the people with vCJD lived in the UK, as highlighted by the FDA.

Also, as BBC says in a 2018 report, 1 in 2000 people in the UK is thought to be a carrier of the disease, even though some who are carriers don’t go on to develop symptoms.

However, the change in Cayman Islands’ policy does not mean the disease is no longer out there.

In fact the FDA said, “as of 2019, 232 people worldwide are known to have become sick with vCJD, and unfortunately, they all have died.  It is thought that they got the disease from eating food made from cows sick with BSE. Most of the people who have become sick with vCJD lived in the United Kingdom at some point in their lives. Only four lived in the U.S., and most likely, these four people became infected when they were living or traveling overseas.”

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Caribbean News

Bwa Kalé movement striking back against gangs, nearly 3,000 murdered

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Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer 

 

#Haiti, September 29, 2023 – In eight months, nearly 3,000 Haitian people have been slaughtered in their home country due to the upsurge and uprising of gangs in the republic which is struggling to hold its democracy in check.

‘Bwa Kalé’, it’s a vigilante movement that has sprung up in Haiti, and the UN says it is driving up murders.

Born out of fear and distrust in the state according to the UN, the movement is a violent strike back against the gangs that are terrorizing residents.

A recent report following an expert visit detailed it.

“Certain groups have formed allegedly to protect their neighbourhoods from gangs.  In some instances, these groups have summarily executed people suspected of being gang members.  The Bwa Kalé movement demonstrates the population’s lack of trust in the State, especially in the police and the courts.  The expert has learned that some members of the police and the judiciary have been complicit with gangs.”

Despite the obvious fear among residents, the UN is warning them not to take justice into their own hands.  However, that is easier said than done as Haitians have demonstrated their feelings of abandonment by fleeing the island in mass numbers on illegal voyages and standing up to the gangs themselves.

In the same report, one said: “The State is absent, there are no police or other officials operating there.”

According to AP, a new report to the U.N. Security Council indicated that 2,728 intentional killings were recorded between October 2022 and June 2023, including 247 women, 58 boys, and 20 girls.  Bwa Kalé is blamed partially for the increase, as life in the country is described as unbearable.

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