New Zealand's PM Jacinda Ardern during her daily COVID-19 press briefing advised hospital visitors against having sex, since it is a potentially "high-risk activity", and not just at times of global pandemic.
Accompanied by Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, Ardern was responding to a question from a reporter who was curious whether sexual intercourse between a patient and a visitor at Auckland hospital could be considered risky "in the current climate".
Bloomfield was the first to come up with an answer: "I think it is a high-risk activity, potentially. However, I don’t know any of the details about that interaction." Then Ardern joined in, saying that "regardless of the COVID status, that kind of thing shouldn’t generally be part of visiting hours, I would have thought."
Netizens appeared to enjoy both the answer and the pallette of facial expressions Ardern adopted when responding, her face swiftly moving from disturbed to uncomfortable and then amused.
Others immediately recalled other "spicy" advice coming from the government in regard to coronavirus precautions, when COVID-19 response minister Chris Hipkins mistakenly recommended people to "spread their legs" in a funny gaffe that went viral in August.
Some users praised the sign language translator for trying to keep the delicate question "clean".
The question was raised because of recent allegations that Auckland district board allowed hundreds of people to visit patients each day, apparently ignoring strict lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of the Delta variant.