The International Olympic Committee for the fast approaching Rio 2016 Olympics will distribute about 450,000 condoms during the games.
The IOC said it is taking the step to ensure that Olympians practice safe sex.
The condoms to be distributed this year are three times more than the amount distributed at the London Games four years ago. About 150,000 condoms were distributed in London.
According to the IOC female condoms will be distributed for the first time ever at the Olympics.
There will be 100,000 female condoms provided in addition to the 350,000 male condoms. There will also be 175,000 packets of lubricant supplied.
At London 2012, U.S. soccer player Hope Solo had commented that “70 to 75 percent of Olympians are having sex during the Games.”
If his statistics is anything to go by, then it is obvious why safe sex has to be on the IOC’s agenda, given the scare of Zika virus in the Americas.
While the virus is most commonly transmitted through mosquito bites, it has also been confirmed by the CDC that it can be transmitted via sex. However, the IOC has established any connection between its supplying the extra condoms and Brazil’s outbreak of the Zika virus.
Earlier this week, two Australian companies announced they are producing male and female condoms coated with a lubricant that claims to “inactivate” some STIs including HIV, HPV and genital herpes. The condoms will supplement those provided by the IOC.
According to Quartz, since the 1992 games in Barcelona, dispensing free condoms has become a tradition to promote the prevention of AIDS.
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