Dating during the COVID-19 Outbreak

I don’t know how you guys out there experience dating during the Coronavirus outbreak. But I really hesitate to set a date. Although living in Mexico I am not on a lock-down (yet) social distancing is implemented. And is there any fun in dating when you have to keep a 1.5 meters distance from your date?

The Coronavirus outbreak and the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico

I date, well at least I am on dating apps and talking to several men. And I live in the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. At the moment this state, despite its huge amount of tourists that have passed through,  is doing very well when it comes to outbreak numbers. And very well means no high numbers. When I write this article there are only 12 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the entire state. And the number of suspected cases lowered yesterday, due to test results being negative.

As of today all parks and party venues shut down and social distancing is a must.
Schools already closed for the duration of 4 weeks just before Easter break started. Only a few tourists remain and hotels are shutting down. Business is slow, as my landlord says, and cancellations are in order due to worldwide travel bans.

All that is good news, the state seems to be in control, but it is no reason to become careless. I have to obey the rules and live by the regulations this government has set for the weeks to come.

And so do you. When you want to go on a date, make sure you know the latest rules and regulations on social distance, meeting people and greeting people, and being outside your house, which is imposed for your area.

Dating in the time of COVID-19

When you are in a long-distance relationship, you might actually have more time for each other now, when you both live in a country where there is “stay-at-home”-advice. For those dating through dating apps, I see a rise in attention. But I am also aware that this is due to boredom and escape from reality.

Datin in Mexico, for example, I have a lot of unemployed guys looking for opportunities. They even misuse the Coronavirus to make a pity call and sad story in the hope I will lend them money or even take them in as a lover. I am sure this happens in other countries as well, so you have to pick your contacts wisely when you are on the dating floor looking for something serious.

I love the way dating has to slow down over these rules imposed on us. I feel the world of dating became so fast that it was hard to make well-considered decisions. Most people, based on physical attraction moved forward with the speed of lightning or wanted to. And it sometimes caught me by surprise when I met a guy a had great conversations within the chat but all he really wanted was just sex.

So I love the social distancing thing. No guy being all over you, just old-fashioned courtship. Guys have to keep their distance in more than 1 way. I am all for that!
It will save me from some disillusions. That is for sure.

So how to handle it when you met someone you like?

Since in a lot of countries a real-life date is not an option now, you have to stick to chat, and video chat.
And you have to be creative.

These are fun things to do when you do a video call:

• drink coffee together when you chat, and have a digital coffee date
• watch a movie together, including the popcorn, and create your own private cinema date
• play question and answer games that help you to get to know the other person better
• both order a pizza and eat it
• make homework together while using video chat
• use multiplayer video games and play online games together
• and if you are there yet, you can even have video sex together

Schedule your time with your dates wisely. It is easy to spend way too much time together at the moment, you feel lonely, isolated maybe, and frustrated and it is nice to flirt and fall in love. But keep in mind that

• there are other people in your life that need attention as well
• you have not met so falling in love digital is maybe not the best way to build a relationship
• it might be wise to hold back on the “I love you”- words until you met in real life
• you need to be careful with sending pictures and have online sex with someone you do not really know

Dating in Playa del Carmen and Cancun during the COVID-19 outbreak

As for me, my date lives in Cancun and we had to postpone. At the moment his job is very busy, and he wants to earn all the income he can, for he knows that in a few days things will slow down and he will be out of work for a while. Understandable. So we postponed. And since my date isn’t the most romantic and intense texter in the world, I speak to him only once or twice a day.

Will we meet anytime soon? I have no idea. It all depends. But I think I will urge him to take his phone to the beach, and I will do the same and have a video call there. Instead of that walk together as we planned.

• this way he does not have to travel (Risk)
• we do avoid the awkward situation of not being able to greet each other with a handshake, a kiss or a hug (risk)
• we avoid sneezing or coughing upon each other by mistake (risk)
• and we avoid being tempted to cross that 1.5 meters social distancing (risk)

When you do go out on a date in an area that is not on lockdown, please take extra measurements for your safety. At the moment it is not just about contraceptives and condoms so much but more about keeping a distance, washing/sanitizing your hands, and not contaminating the other person or people in your surroundings.

Remember: although the virus does not spread through sex, it does spread among people that are closer than 6 feet to each other, and through sneezing and coughing, the droplets you spread when coughing and sneezing can be highly contagious. But so can touching be. So having sex, which obviously involves a lot of touching, with a person you don’t know and you have just met, is a huge risk. More so than ever.

Maybe it is wiser, although you can leave the house, to postpone your date until further notice and stick to video dates for a while until the world has calmed down and the virus is under control.