[Isolation and lockdown: The other pandemic in the social sphereIsolamento e confinamento: A outra pandemia na esfera social].

Abstract

Introduction: Isolation and confinement are measures of high social impact that -worldwide and to a greater or lesser degree of intensity- have brought about temporary or permanent changes in how social interactions are conducted.

Objective: To conduct a study on the domestic sphere and the external modifications that forced a drastic lockdown in the Colombian population during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods: A qualitative study was carried out by conducting in-depth interviews with 45 participants living in the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia, reconstructing life pathways to evaluate the most drastic moment in the population's lockdown.

Results: From the findings, the ability to assimilate strong lockdown measures, the collectivization of the medical discourse's most legitimate justifications, and the construction of self-care measures in the domestic sphere -a key place and relational space to face social uncertainty in the absence of effective responses to control contagion and disease- are highlighted.

Conclusion: The drastic lockdown of the Colombian population due to the transitory measures entailed a high level of uncertainty for family groups but also a generally positive response.