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There has been interest in exploring the impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns on sexual and reproductive health, with studies reporting a decrease in the self-reported number of new sexual partners and frequency of intercourse.1 2 The importance of information on the incidence of STIs has also been highlighted.3 4
In Finland, national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic began on 16 March 2020. The first wave did not cause a healthcare surge and the rate of new cases started to decrease in May. Restrictions were loosened in early June. Our aim was to explore cross-sectionally the influence of social restrictions on the number of laboratory-confirmed Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) diagnoses among people aged ≥15 during the period of January–August 2020. Diagnoses reported in 2015–2019 were used …
Footnotes
Handling editor Anna Maria Geretti
Twitter @ilarikuitunen
Contributors Both authors participated in all phases of the research. IK had the original idea. IK drafted the first version. VP analysed the data. IK and VP participated in writing and revising the manuscript. Both authors had access to data. IK and VP have approved the final version.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.