How Porn Industry Could Be The Model For Dealing With Coronavirus Pandemic

States easing up regulations on the coronavirus pandemic means employees and companies are going back to work. However, experts have advised taking lessons from the porn industry, which has survived a pandemic in the past.

According to The New York Times, Rutgers University’s School of Public Health Dean Perry N. Halkitis said that people should listen to the guidelines of porn producers when it comes to the coronavirus because they were able to keep their employees safe during the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The expert advised doing the four T’s (Target, Trace, Treat, Trace) program.

The adult film industry’s program called PASS (Performer Availability Screening Services) mandates that their workers must be tested for H.I.V. every two weeks. Those infected will be treated, and all the partners will be traced.

“If we’re trying to get our economy back, a major component of that is building confidence for when we engage in regular activities such as going to a restaurant, getting on a plane, or going back to work,” Harvard Global Health Institute's Ashish Jha said.

Back in May, Stat News first reported about the suggestion of following the porn industry’s program when combatting the coronavirus.

“The adult film industry teaches us that as a proof of concept, this can work. We just have to scale it up,” Jha told the outlet in May.

The porn industry, just like other fields, has been shut down since March. But now that things are slowly opening up, it has created guidelines on how employees will go back to work despite there being no development yet of a vaccine.

“We’ve looked at coronavirus testing, temperature checks, wearing masks on sets when not filming, and having couples who live together work together,” Free Speech Coalition’s communications director Mike Stabile said.

The coalition’s official further said that testing frequently, partnered with other protocols, diminishes the risk of HIV among porn stars. As for the coronavirus, it spreads through respiratory droplets produced from coughing, breathing or sneezing and not by sexual contact.

“[T]here are a million more exposures from who did you work with on the set to who did you come into contact with before testing positive?” Stabile added.

Adult film star Maitland Ward admitted she only performs in places where the PASS program is in effect. She also believes that the porn industry is “far more prepared than mainstream” media when it comes to the coronavirus.

“Honestly, I think mainstream will be looking to how the adult industry handles this because we are the standard-bearer when it comes to health and safety on sets,” the porn actress said.