LONDON — Sales of Durex condoms surged as social distancing measures were relaxed over the summer, British manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser announced Tuesday, adding demand had increased more than 10 percent as lockdowns were lifted worldwide.
The British company said total sales rose by 13 percent in the last quarter, as people were able to reunite with their loved ones after months of being apart. Much of the demand is believed to have come from couples who were not living together when lockdown measures were announced and were unable to be intimate in the months that followed.
In April, the boss of Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Durex, said “intimate occasions” were reducing amid the pandemic and as a result there was less demand for its product.
Laxman Narasimhan said condom sales dropped in many markets, including in Britain, and some couples who were living together were not being as intimate due to anxiety amid the health crisis, the BBC reported.
“There is also evidence that birth rates will be further lowered in coming quarters as a result of behaviour changes related to the pandemic,” the company said in a news release Tuesday.
Other countries have forecast lower birthrates in 2021 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, which has ravaged economies, triggered widespread unemployment and caused financial uncertainty among many families.
Earlier this month, Singapore’s government said it would be introducing a one-time cash bonus for citizens seeking to have children during the pandemic, in a bid to boost one of the world’s lowest national birthrates.
In Japan, where birthrates are also low, officials say they are expecting even fewer births next year, citing concerns among citizens and couples who are opting not to reproduce amid a time of economic turmoil.
In countries like Kenya and the Philippines, however, birthrates are soaring — particularly among young women and teenagers in working-class slums who are unable to attend school due to pandemic closures.
October 22, 2020 at 02:29AM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/21/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/
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