HORNY Brits are being implored to use condoms to avoid an outbreak of untreatable super-gonorrhoea as sex-starved singletons are likely to get busy between the sheets when pubs reopen on Monday.
Experts fear record levels of sexually-transmitted diseases could be on the cards as people are expected to romp in defiance of Covid social distancing rules or bubble up with new partners as lockdown measures ease.
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Sex-seekers are now being urged to get checked ahead of “the rush” and to use protection when getting frisky to stop drug-resistant STIs wreaking havoc across the country.
Dr John McSorley, president of the British Association of Sexual Health & HIV (BASHH), has warned “an overall rise is expected” in STIs from April 12.
The scientist told the Daily Star: “If sex with a new partner is on your mind, however vaguely, then the time to get sorted is now.
“The UK entered the Covid-19 pandemic with gonorrhoea and syphilis at levels not seen for a generation or two.
“It would take some time to get back to that. It would happen slowly at first, then quickly. If we do all we can now, we could avoid it.”
Dr McSorley says clinics are “anticipating a busy late spring and summer” after lockdown put people’s X-rated fun on hold.
“Lockdowns have been particularly tough for young people or people who were single when this all started,” he told the news outlet.
“Looking after your sexual health is not about stopping things, but allowing you to live your best life.”
Rising levels of STIs could risk drug-resistant forms spreading across the country, Dr McSorley warned.
He added: “This is absolutely a major concern, and a significant threat to our future well-being.
“The UK did a very good job at preserving our capacity to identify and correctly treat gonorrhoea thus far during the pandemic.
“However we have already had three cases of multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea in the UK in 2018.
“Multi drug resistance arises through the over use and poor supervision of antibiotics in the UK and worldwide.”
Surveys undertaken by BASHH have found that clinics get busier when lockdown measures are lifted, and Dr McSorley says the pandemic has seen sexual health services “under sustained pressure”.
He added: “However there is a large backlog of work to do, e.g. for women waiting to have contraception implants and coils inserted or removed, as well as pent up needs for everyone desperately waiting to get out and get on with their lives.
“It’s really important we get this right and that there is proper investment and support in standing services up fully again.”
It comes as boozers up and down the country are set to fling their doors back open to thirsty Brits as Covid restrictions ease.
Some 15,000 pubs – about 40 per cent of the total in England – are due to welcome back customers for outside drinking in beer gardens, car parks and even on roads from Monday, April 12.
Major chains are expected to reopen at usual times as pubs brace themselves for a flurry of punters eager for a tipple.
Of the thousands of pubs preparing to reopen, a handful have a 24-hour license.
They are gearing up to welcome punters back as soon as the clock strikes midnight.
