Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield today clarified that they advise against having sexual intercourse during hospital visits, regardless of Covid-19 status or alert levels.

When a reporter asked about an allegation of a hospital patient and a visitor having "sexual relations" at Auckland Hospital, Ardern looked visibly bemused by the topic.

The reporter asked the Prime Minister and Dr Bloomfield whether this was considered a "high risk activity, in the current climate".

"I think it is a high-risk activity, potentially, however I don't know any of the details about that interaction," Bloomfield responded.

"I would say, generally, regardless of the Covid status, that kind of thing shouldn't generally be part of visiting hours, I would have thought," Ardern added.

If the allegations are true, it seems someone has taken Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins' advice to "spread their legs" a little too seriously.