ABSTRACT
This contribution addresses the telephone calls from coronavirus tracers to patients mediated by interpreters through the analysis of a series of real conversations during the communication of PCR tests results, hazards of this situation, hygiene instructions, lockdown orders, and related health issues. The focus will be on culture-related aspects of the communication related to the perception of risk and the asymmetry of knowledge, as reflected on the discourse of the tracers and the responses from patients (many of them immersed in situations of helplessness, unemployment, mental disorders, indigence or simply defiance against legal and health restrictions), as well as on the mechanisms that interpreters use to bridge communication. Critical incident analysis will be used as a methodological approach to select, analyse, and reflect on examples, to be able, not only to offer objective results about the characteristics of the discourse and the nature of the mechanisms used by interpreters, but also to provide criticism and suggestions for the interpreting practice. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.