I think the most likely explanation is that the Covid infection reduced your body’s ability to respond immunologically to other things. Sometimes your immune system just juggles a bunch of balls, and when it’s challenged by something as significant as Covid, it can drop a ball, like HSV one, and allow an outbreak to happen when previously it has not
. I think it’s absolutely possible that your HSV one was genital from the start and you were not symptomatic until recently.
Terri