Steps in a booking where risk reduction can take place

Screening Clients

Ask if the person has been overseas or on a cruise
Ask if they have had a cough or flu-like symptoms
Ask if they have had any contact with people who are, or suspected to have the virus

If possible, do not see clients who have any of the following symptoms: cough, fever, headache, runny nose.

Prepping your space prior to a booking

Surface cleaning with hospital grade disinfectant, soap and water, or a dilute bleach solution
Have a shower and scrub your skin well with soap – friction is key to breaking down the virus
Ensure you have plenty of clean sheets & towels
Ensure you have enough safer sex supplies (preferably single-use e.g. single-use lube sachets, disposable fingercots, etc.)
If you are using lube from a bottle, clean it thoroughly with soap and water to remove any lube before disinfecting

When you first meet them in person, in all locations

Most people with the virus do not have symptoms. However, if they turn up and have symptoms, you can ask them to leave. If the time period of face-to-face contact is less than 15 minutes and you have not been in “close contact” then the current information suggests you are at less risk. Definition of “close contact” is: 15 minutes of face to face activity less than 1.5m distance, or 2 hours of time together in a closed space without airflow with a person known or suspected to have COVID-19.

Symptoms to look for include: cough, fever, headache, runny nose
You can use a thermometer
But remember: some people with the virus do not have symptoms

If the interaction has been 15 minutes or less, you will still need to:

Wipe down door handles and surfaces in the work area with disinfectant after they leave
Wash your hands and face with soap and warm water

If you have agreed to the booking and are going ahead in your own location

Washing hands as soon as they enter, or use hand sanitiser (if you have difficulty finding sanitiser as stocks have been low, then purchase 75% alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and mix in aloe vera gel
Reinforce the 20 seconds for hand washing
Washing hands after touching money, and get them to wash their hands after they have handled their wallet
Clients should wash their face
Shower as usual
Management of clients’ clothes is different than usual – droplets can live in clothing and when a person is undressing, they are touching the droplets with their hands, then when they touch a surface it becomes a transmission risk. So hand washing after handling clothing is very important
Have wipes by the bed within reach
Tie your hair up to avoid having it come into contact with the client’s face, hands or bodily fluids
Avoid face touching, kissing (face, cheeks or lips) when possible
Avoid oral services if possible. If you are providing or receiving oral, ensure that the condom or dam remains secure. This advice is based upon the evidence for testing, as down the back of the nose into the throat is where swabs are currently taken for COVID-19 tests

You have agreed to the booking, in another location (street, outcall)

Use hand sanitiser and tissues around their face and on hands
After using a car or door handle, use hand sanitizer, you can use wipes imaginatively and clean the handle while you are there
Wipes (the ones that kill 99% of bacteria and viruses, not the ones that say “kills 99% of germs”) are useful in a car or around the location
Tie your hair up to avoid having it come into contact with the client’s face, hands or bodily fluids
If you are working in open environments, change blankets and / or cloth used on the ground or other surfaces after each job
Avoid face touching, kissing (face, cheeks or lips) when possible
Avoid oral services if possible. If you are providing oral, ensure that condom and dam remain secure. This advice is based upon the evidence for testing, as down the back of the nose into the throat is where swabs are currently taken for COVID-19 tests.

Services that reduce contact

All the skills and imagination that you usually use, spending time with the client in non-contact ways
Standing behind the client and bring them to climax, you can do extended handjobs this way without face-to-face contact
Gloves for face touching, get your sexy latex happening, Sorbolene cream goes well with gloves anywhere on the body
Remove gloves carefully after a job
Mutual masturbation from 1.5 metres away is another way to add some non-contact into the booking, will assist in following social distancing protocols
Toy play
Less affectionate services
Watching porn together
Play around with positions where you or your client is face down, to reduce shared breathing space
Single-use items (i.e. small lube packets)
Use mirrors
Offer massage as well/as opposed to full service
Think about creative ways to minimise clients touching you as much, hand ties and or mental constraint

Change up your bookings

Shorter bookings will reduce your risk of transmission (see definition of “close contact” below)
Cos-play, nurse and doctor fantasy, wipe them down as you are doing the activity
Instead of GFE, you could offer no/low contact services
Offering striptease or dance, so the booking can run smoothly with less contact

After the booking (stuff we already do, but here is a reminder)

Wash all fabrics that have had contact, preferably in a long cycle
- Don’t reuse towels
- Don’t reuse sheets or pillowcases
Washing (soap and water) and disinfecting lube tubes, other surfaces
Washing (soap and water) and disinfecting all toys and tools
Wiping down door handles, showers and taps, light switches
Wiping down buttons on toilet
Have a thorough shower, put on clean clothes

After the booking (new stuff you might not be doing yet)

Use an anti-bacterial addition to your laundry load – if you can’t find laundry sanitiser at the shops, you can use white vinegar or a capful of Pine-o-cleen disinfectant
All clothes and fabrics involved in the booking need to be washed in hot water on a long cycle after the booking. Use gloves when handling fabrics
Where are you directing the person to walk through the space on the way to shower? This can be a new routine to avoid contact with surfaces. Retrace your steps then you will know where to wipe at the end of the booking.
Wash your hands after wiping down
You can wipe down lift buttons and door handles if you are in an apartment
Wipe down all money – notes & coins with disinfectant wipes or spray with a dilute bleach solution
DIY anti-bacterial wipes: baby wipes soaked in isopropyl alcohol/rubbing alcohol from chemist or Bunnings (must be at least 75% alcohol) in an airtight container

What situations or activities have risk?

Kissing, spitting and exchanging saliva
Sharing drinks
Sharing eating utensils
Sharing smoking devices such as cigarettes, vapes, pipes and bongs
Sharing items to snort drugs such as straws and notes
Sharing phones
Being in “close contact”

What is “close contact”?

When a person breathes, the moisture from their mouth, nose and chest are shared in the air around them. If they form into droplets there is a risk of virus transmission. Condensed breath when it forms a droplet (such as a telephone surface) is very contagious. A “droplet” does not float in the air, it’s not a gas anymore. A “droplet” is no longer “breath”, it’s a liquid.

Sharing air with another person is not enough for the virus to transmit. It requires what is known as “close contact.”

Definition of “close contact” is: 15 minutes of face to face activity less than 1.5m distance, or 2 hours of time together in a closed space without airflow with a person known, or suspected to have COVID-19.

“Close contact” is what you are avoiding.

Work online if you can

Contact your state and territory sex worker organisation for a list of sites you can sign up to. It’s a crowded space but check in with your local sex worker organisation about how you can make it work for you.

Why is this so important?

You want to reduce the risks to loved ones that are elderly, have heart disease, are a heavy smoker, have chronic asthma or lung disease, have ever been hospitalised for pneumonia, who have type 2 diabetes, or have compromised immunity (such as PWHIV or if someone is undergoing chemotherapy). For them, the virus can be deadly.

“Flattening the curve” means there will be enough hospital beds for the people who are most vulnerable. The above strategies will help you contribute to this. Flattening the curve is also why the governments are looking at ways to support people to work from home and also to protect workers and public health and provide access to payments for financial support.

Last Updated: 22 April 2020

Excerpt from: https://redbook.scarletalliance.org.au/covid-19/