Across multiple outlets, a first-person account describes how, beginning at midnight, the doors of a bar are locked and no one—including workers—can leave. The situation lasts for about 24 hours as part of a countrywide census effort in a South American nation. The account says the census process takes place for the first time in 12 years, with authorities requiring people to remain in designated locations while officials conduct population counting. The reporting frames the event as an unusual but temporary measure linked to the operational needs of the census. It describes a period of confinement starting at the stroke of midnight, continued through the day, and ending when the restriction is lifted after the 24-hour period. While details about the specific logistics or the bar’s role in the census are limited in the provided summaries, all sources agree on the core circumstances: the midnight lock-in, the inability for anyone to leave, and the reason given—taking stock of the population after a 12-year gap. The accounts focus on the immediate experience of being unable to exit during the census window.