The invisible enemy and the language of illness
Is it helpful to discuss ‘redeployment’ rather than ‘placement’ into different health roles, or might military imagery be anxiety-inducing for the people being unwittingly conscripted into a health service army? Do declarations of ‘war’ against the virus help to instil a sense of gravity, urgency, and a keep-calm-and-carry-on attitude amongst the public, or do they simply lead to war-time levels of panic-buying and loo-roll hoarding?