Extraordinary societal events, such as global sanitary pandemics that human beings are facing since the beginning of humankind represent major collective upheaval for laymen. The COVID-19 pandemic that is responsible for the Coronavirus disease has been assessed by various large-scale epidemiological indices. Further, hard sciences researchers are settling rigorous scientific protocols that allow for imaging the biological representation of SARS-CoV-2 virion of 120 nm in diameter and the related infectious processes. Although, the specificity of laymen’s perceived representation of the worldwide killing virus SARS-CoV-2 remains unexplored. Therefore, the aim of the current research is to investigate the specificity of laymen’s social representations of SARS-CoV-2 in France. Indeed, from the social constructionist perspective, the perception of an object is underpinned by complex cognitive, emotional, social and cultural processes. Thereby, the socially constructed representations remain the primary driver of laymen’ exacerbated emotional reactions and irrational behaviours during the COVID-19 sanitary crisis. The methodology of the present research aimed to seize laymen’s social representations of the invisible virus SARS-CoV-2. The participants (N = 784) whose age ranged from 18 to 30 years, were asked to complete independently anonymous and confidential online questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in France. The questionnaire contained a free association task without any constraints of production that aimed to seize participants’ representations and feelings that come spontaneously to their mind while thinking about virus COVID-19. The automatized qualitative data analyses were conducted with software IRaMuTeQ, and refined with complementary semiotic analyses. The primary results of multivariate technique of factorial correspondence analyses demonstrated that laymen’s representations of the invisible virus refer mainly to the impact of COVID-19 sanitary containment, namely social isolation and the related feelings of stress and anxiety (47.89%), containment, χ² (131, N = 106) = 73.48, p < .001; worldwide spreading and dangerous virus that elicits the feeling of fear (27.49%), virus, χ² (84, N = 57) = 80.02, p < .001; and laymen’s personal involvement and respect of sanitary policies (24.62%), involvement, χ² (36, N = 31) = 78.08, p < .001. These results demonstrated that laymen perceive the invisible and dangerous virus SARS-CoV-2 primarily as a cause of social isolation related to the COVID-19 sanitary lockdown in France that generates aversive emotional states. Thus, a thorough comprehension of laymen’s social representations of the virus SARS-CoV-2 might contribute to alleviate laymen’s distress elicited by the invisible enemy and contribute to improve crisis management effectiveness.