Websites offering pornographic content in the United States are seeing a growing interest for Covid-19-related porn among its users, according to a report by Vice.

A search for the term "coronavirus" on Pornhub yielded at least 112 videos featuring sexually-explicit content where hazmat suits and face masks are involved. A performer-creator duo for the platform, that goes under the handle Spicy x Rice, told Vice that they have made a Covid-19-related video specifically for viewers at Wuhan in Hubei, China which has been identified as the epicentre of the outbreak.

"We personally know people actually stuck in Wuhan and made it with them in mind," one half of the duo, identified as Spicy, said to Vice.

Spicy believes that people would be interested in Covid-19 porn in the same way that viewers who claimed to be afraid of their own shadows have an affinity for horror movies.

"We are all searching for things that make us come alive. Covid-19 is something that brings fear and mystery to pretty much everyone in the world right now. You need to be able to feel something, and what better way to make you feel something than the global crisis we are all in right now."

Another couple told Vice that they have also produced a PSA-style video with information on how to put on a face mask correctly, just to raise awareness about Covid-19 to users on the platform.

A spokesperson for xHamster, a separate platform, also told Vice that there is an overwhelming surge in signups from users in regions severely affected by Covid-19. Last month, the website offered free premium accounts to users in those areas. It added that the demand was so overwhelming that the website had difficulties approving new signups in time.

Vice reported that some videos turned up by the coronavirus search term also feature individuals claiming to be under quarantine who appeared to be using the opportunity to earn money from the platforms. It also stated that most videos are just capitalising on the outbreak as they have the words "Covid-19" in their titles but do not actually appear to show any related content.

According to an earlier report, The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been blocking access to Pornhub and other related sites since 2012.

From 2012 until November 2019, a total of 5,611 websites containing obscene content has been blocked by MCMC, as they violated Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.