International | Fever when you hold me tight

Casual sex is out, companionship is in

Lockdowns are forcing singletons to embrace emotional intimacy

Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hub

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Fever when you hold me tight”

International May 9th 2020

A dangerous gap: The markets v the real economy

From the May 9th 2020 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
Reuse this content

More from International

An illustration of a plug and a socket separated but a fence with barbed wire.

Why don’t more countries import their electricity? 

The economics make sense, but the geopolitics are nerve-racking

An illustration of an eagle supporting a globe on it's back between its wings and looking back at it.

Trump unmasks American selfishness, say cynics

But sceptics are wrong to call America First business as usual

A helicopter flies above Houthi forces boarding the cargo ship Galaxy Leader.

Inside the Houthis’ moneymaking machine

After a ceasefire in Gaza, they may continue their Red Sea racket

Marco Rubio will find China is hard to beat in Latin America

China buys lithium, copper and bull semen, and doesn’t export its ideology

Donald Trump has a strong foreign-policy hand, but could blow it

Bullying foreigners can be sadly effective, but also a dangerous distraction

Women warriors and the war on woke

Trump’s Pentagon pick wants women off the battlefield