The body in times of pandemic. A Foucauldian look at the decrees, protocols and advertisements against covid-19

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze the representations of the body that underlie the decrees, protocols and advertisements aimed at promoting and sustaining the Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation provided in the city of La Plata during much of 2020 as a preventive measure to stop the spread of COVID-19. From the ceasing of income to the instructions for hand washing, the organization of life in this epidemiological scenario seems to be ordered according to the biological risk that our body represents, conceived as a set of microparticles potentially "loaded" with a highly contagious virus. Following Foucault in Discipline and Punish, the fear of contagion is a constant that, since the times of the Black Death, has been materialized in government regulations that, although they have varied over time depending on advances in medicine, technology and communications, maintain a constant concern: the classification and normalization of bodies. From an ethical point of view, it should be noted that this article will not delve into medical matters related to the treatment of COVID-19, nor will it question the effectiveness of the preventive measures implemented to fight the pandemic in Argentina.