Abstract

Physical and social distancing became a key measure in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic and required the mass media for its dissemination. This descriptive study, using qualitative methodology and content analysis had the purpose of interpreting messages about this measure as published at the beginning of the pandemic in Chilean mass media. It considered 63 news obtained in formal media sources on the Internet between April and May 2020.From the analysis, emerged the following thematic categories: social and physical distancing strategy, consequences on the population, messages and expert voices, importance of both social determinants and digital communication channels in a restricted physical environment. Findings indicate that formal media had a fundamental role in the dissemination of expert information based on reliable scientific evidence, in the civic interpellation of citizens, and denouncing health problems, among them, mental health declining of the population. The capacity of people to adapt to digital media for socializing was also exposed, and aspects of the sociocultural determinants affecting the population's perception of risk were incipiently highlighted.