COVID-19 haunts people's lives, especially participants of the COVID-19 swab test in Indonesia. This study aims to describe the communication strategy carried out by COVID-19 swab test participants in managing anxiety, the uncertainty of information, and finding patterns of communication networks while waiting for laboratory test results. This study is conducted qualitatively, data was collected with a semi-open questionnaire through social media networks with the google form applcation on 61 informants of the COVID-19 swab test participants in Indonesia. Furthermore, the data was analyzed using the flow model and UCINET-NetDraw software. As a result of the study, the communication strategy used by COVID-19 swab test participants in managing anxiety and uncertainty; first, transcendental communication strategy; by approaching and praying to God. Second, phatic communication strategy; build personal communication that has an impact on feelings of pleasure. Third, the communication strategy is built with the pattern of interpersonal networks with the closest people. Parents and friends play an important role in helping participants manage anxiety. Furthermore, general practitioners provide health information to their patients. These three communication strategies helps increase the body's immunity when sick and develop humanistic communication patterns in the health sector.

 COVID-19 suddenly emerges, shocks the world community's life order. The existence of COVID-19 since the end of December 2019 has changed the social, economic, transportation, health field, and even a trade war between countries (Boylan, McBeath, & Wang, 2021). Millions of people around the world have been victims of the COVID-19 disaster.  Health care services around the world are preoccupied with handling coronavirus, conducting tests for COVID-19, and scientists have been trying to find a vaccine to stop the virus spread. All countries around the world conductesd swab tests to detect and ensure that a person is exposed to COVID-19; for example, in the United States (Patel et al., 2021) Japan (Saito et al., 2020) Liverpool, England (Iacobucci, 2020) China (Xing et al., 2020) and Indonesia (Sucahya, 2020).

People who take swab tests experience anxiety and receive ambigunous results. Anxiety can be affected by worry, fear of being infected, and the threat of illness related to COVID-19 (Crowley, Bleakley, Silk, Young, & Lambe, 2021; Head, Kasting, Sturm, Hartsock, & Zimet, 2020). One's knowledge affects anxiety, and women have higher levels of anxiety than men (Rakhmanov, Demir, & Dane, 2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and uncertainty of information are felt by most people in quarantine or isolation. They experience more significant anxiety when compared to people who are not isolated (Tang et al., 2021). In Indonesia, people who take COVID-19 swab tests must do isolation while waiting for the laboratory test result. The waiting time for swab test results varies from two to nine days. This period is the peak anxiety level due to the uncertainty of information about the swab test result. Fearful thoughts worsen anxiety if the test result is positive then being isolated in the hospital, even if it results in death (Alanazi & Aljubilah, 2021; Pyszczynski, Lockett, Greenberg, & Solomon, 2021). It has caused anxiety and fear in all walks of life for farmers, fishers, traders, entrepreneurs, employees, and even anxiety for health workers performing medical roles (Fleisher, Sweeney, Clapp, & Barsade, 2020). However, excessive anxiety will cause panic; on the contrary, the lack of fear and anxiety which will lead to an attitude of ignoring the virus (Pakpour, Griffiths, & Lin, 2021).

 Indonesian is religious, open, and honestin irs attitude of togetherness, has a high level of  tolerance, and assists one another  (Given, 2008; Sulaeman, Rijal, Malawat, & Sere, 2021). However, communication patterns are carried out in a high context as a part of the culture of Asian society; the delivery of messages are   implicit, indirect, and not frank (Saputri & Saraswati, 2017). The relation between the character of Indonesian society with communication patterns (Ridwan, Toisuta, Yanlua, Sulaeman, & Salam, 2020) one side has an open character, but on the other hand, conveying a message is implicit and not direct. This is the unique dimension of Indonesian society.

As a religious society, the anxiety caused by the COVID-19 outbreak is faced by asking for help and surrendering to God. The unquestioning belief that only God can help and cure disease is the basis for transcendental communication, vertical servitude to God (Sham, 2015; Sulaeman, Rijal, Ridwan, 2021).

It is open, honest, and helpful to each other, when being stricken with anxiety in the face of illness, it is faced with open and entertaining communication with those closest to him. This is the basis for phatic communication; fun communications can improve the body's immune (Holba, 2008; Vanyan, 2017). Meanwhile, the communication built with the closest people forms an interpersonal communication network, communication with the closest people during illness. This argument is the basis for choosing transcendental communication, phatic communication, and interpersonal communication networks to manage the anxiety of COVID-19 test participants.

The COVID-19 pandemic that has occurred in Indonesia since March 2020 has created anxiety, fear, and panic in the community, especially the test participants who have been indicated to be exposed to the virus at the initial detection. The experience of COVID-19 swab participants in managing anxiety and uncertainty of information is analyzed based on a phenomenological perspective that explores a person's daily experience (Nurdin, Sulaeman, & Ridwan, 2022)  in constructing the reality of anxiety as a natural truth (Given, 2008; Sulaeman et al., 2021). A person's experience of religiosity is constructed in a transcendental communication pattern to surrender to God. The nature of openness, togetherness and mutual help are constructed in phatic communication patterns and form interpersonal communication networks. These three communication strategies are constructs of anxiety management in the perspective of anxiety management theory (Wiseman, 1995).

This study aims to describe the communication strategies carried out by COVID-19 swab test participants in managing anxiety, the uncertainty of information, and finding patterns of communication networks while waiting for laboratory test results. To answer this goal, the study was conducted qualitatively on 61 people who have taken the COVID-19 swab test in Indonesia, consisting of 31 men and 30 women. Data collection was done by spreading a semi-open questionnaire through a google form application on social media. The questions include how to communicate, manage anxiety and information uncertainty while waiting for a swab test result, who was contacted, and what messages were conveyed. The data was descriptively analyzed by reducing and grouping information from informants and then presenting it accordingly to how to manage anxiety and uncertainty of information over swab test results, communication networks that were carried out, and messages conveyed when communicating with others. After the data was presented in accordance with the specified categories, it was then analyzed with a phenomenological perspective and anxiety and uncertainty management theory, and finally, conclusions were withdrawn. To determine the participants' relationship and pattern of communication networks, the UCINET-NetDraw software was utilized to analyze the data (Eriyanto, 2014).

The COVID-19 pandemic created anxiety, panic, and information uncertainty in public life, especially for COVID-19 swab test participants who indicated to have been exposed  the virus during the initial examination. Excessive anxiety and panic can reduce the immune health of the human body. On the other hand, anxiety and information uncertainty that are properly managed can strengthen the human body's immune system. Communication studies contribute to the management of anxiety and uncertainty through transcendental communication strategy, namely vertical communication to God carried out by the COVID-19 swab test participants to get closer, calm down, and pray for the safety of their life. Interpersonal communication among people is carried out with a phatic communication strategy, which is a communication built by the participants of the COVID-19 swab test on the basis of social ties and aspects of relationship closeness. In phatic communication, messages are conveyed with trivial content (small talk) accompanied by healthy humor that can make them forget the anxiety that is being experienced. The COVID-19 swab test participants form an interpersonal communication network as a strategy in search of information, namely with friends and doctors. Communication networks that are built to manage anxiety and information uncertainty are carried out with parents and friends. The communication network established with health workers is more related to general practioners however, state hospitals have a higher level of popularity.

The theoretical implication of this research contributes to developing humanist communication strategies in the health sector. The strategy developed can be transcendental communication strategies, phatic communication strategies, and interpersonal communication network strategies. The practical implication of this research is the importance of implementing vertical communication to God not only when problems occur but it can also be done at any time. Phatic communication contributes to boosting the body's immunity to avoid the coronavirus. The implementation of interpersonal communication networks with the closest ones is needed to reduce anxiety amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has not yet ended.