Quote of the day 4th April: This is not a request

"We cannot relax our discipline now. If we do, people will die.

"This advice is not a request, it is an instruction. Stay at home, protect lives and you will be doing your part."

(Health Secretary Matt Hancock at yesterday's Coronavirus briefing. Click on the window below for the four-minute conclusion of his remarks from which this was taken:



or click here for a link to a video recording of the whole press conference.)

And yes, I know that "this is not a request" will trigger some people. But I don't see how we can get everyone to take seriously that people will die if we don't follow this advice unless it is put more strongly than as a request.

Comments

Gary Bullivant said…
People will, of course, die even if we do follow the advice/request/instruction. Not just in the trite sense but because of the unpredictable effects that encouraging a climate of isolation will have in facilitating other causes of death. I have it in mind from personal experience that a fatal pulminary embolism can be triggered as a result of unusual and prolonged inactivity, even when in hospital but more so when the symptoms are misdiagnosed or ignored in pursuit of targets. As for advice being an instruction not a request, at least he didn't pretend it was an order.
11:09 am
Chris Whiteside said…
"Order" is not generally perceived as an appropriate word to use in a civilian context.

We are not under martial law and I don't for a minute think we want or need to go there.

However, the more carefully everyone follows the social distancing guidelines the fewer people will die, the sooner we can start to relax them, and the less damage will be done to the economy.

5:41 pm
Gary Bullivant said…
Interesting interpretation of "order" there. To my mind an order, military or not, is any direction from a duly authorised person or body to another person or body that has the force of law behind it. Ok, the armed forces are particularly structured to operate that way under appropriate legislation (eg the Army Act 1955) and Queen's Regulations. However, a topical civilian example is the undoubted power of local authorities (courts, councils, police) to issue Closure Orders to licensed and retail premises et al. I say topical because a class of businesses has recently been closed by order of central government thereby giving grounds for certain insurers to refuse claims from businesses on the legalistic grounds that Closure Orders, an unremarkable but specific use of the word Order in a civilan context, have not been issued. He could, had he wished, have said it is currently an Order to not leave home without a reasonable excuse, to disobey is an offence and both summary and indictable punishments are available to the authorities for those who are found to have disobeyed. Most reasonable people would understand that but it would,of course, shift the focus on to the determination of what is a reasonable excuse in any particular case. So much more problematic than "Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives" (unless it's the Scots Senior Medical Adviser saying it on the BBC's Broadcasting House of course.)

10:30 am
Chris Whiteside said…
I think you are over-thinking this, Gary.

Obviously you are right about the civilian use of instruments such as traffic order or standing orders.

"This is an order" is, however not a phrase which is often used in civilian life and nor would we want it to be.

I don't think we need a major semantic argument about it.

"This is not a request" made the point perfectly clear.
3:52 pm
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