Urban Community’s Perceptions and Experiences about Social Distancing During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Social distancing is a policy taken as a form of minimizing and suppressing the spread of Covid-19 which increases from time to time. The purpose of this study was to describe people’s perceptions and experiences about social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research is qualitative research with a phenomenological approach which is presented in a descriptive form. The location of this research is in Central Java Province. The method of data collection was carried out by in-depth interviews. The results showed that the respondents knew about social distancing well. Some respondents have applied social distancing in their daily lives. Information obtained on the behavior of sorting and choosing social distancing when in certain conditions and situations. Social distancing is applied when in public places and when meeting with strangers while when meeting with the closest people, social distancing is rarely applied. There was an attitude that appears when respondents meet perpetrators of social distancing policy violators, including letting them know, reprimanding, advising, and setting a good example. Most of the respondents have good knowledge about social distancing. The implementation of social distancing has been carried out in their daily lives, although it has not been comprehensive.