While horny Aucklanders are forced to wait another few weeks before hooking up with anyone outside their bubble, the rest of the country entering COVD-19 alert level Delta-2 are allowed to resume sexual relations - with new safety precautions, of course.
The level change means it's business as usual for many Kiwis, including sex workers who head back to work on Wednesday, but now it's not only a condom needed as protection.
During level 2, both sex workers and their clients will be required to wear a face mask during sessions, according to workers' rights initiative New Zealand Prostitute Collecive (NZPC).
"While sex work can occur at level 2, venues are limited to no more than 50 people indoors, and all people, staff and clients, must wear a mask," a statement from the NPC reads on its website.
"This means you may have to be inventive for what positions and activities you undertake as you will not be able to kiss or be within the moist breath zone."
The 'moist breath zone' is a term popularised last year when mask-wearing was less mandatory, referring to the particularly contagious area in which you can feel or smell someone else's breath.
Staff and clients at venues should also scan the QR code or complete the manual register when entering the venue.
"If you are working from home, or going on outcalls, you must keep a record of who you see (and their address if it is an outcall), and you must wear a mask at all times," the NZPC statement reads.
"Again, you may have to be inventive for what positions and activities you undertake as you will not be able to kiss or be within the moist breath zone."
Last year's move to level 2 following the lockdowns of March/April saw NZPC national coordinator Dame Catherine Healy tell Newshub "kissing is out and contact tracing procedures are in".
"We have great confidence that sex workers will be sensible in managing the return to work and the procedures related to contact tracing and keeping them and their clients safe," she said at the time.
While the alert level 3 and 4 lockdowns have led to some financial insecurity for many sex workers, there may be no better time for them to return to business.
A recent study out of London revealed 'intimate touch' is necessary for banishing feelings of loneliness and anxiety throughout the pandemic.
