Politician urges public to avoid contact sports Wednesday

American politicians have certainly involved themselves in the lives of people in ways that often seem like overstepping or unnecessary but don’t think British politicians aren’t above making strange suggestions to the general public too.

On Wednesday, thousands of paramedics and other medical personnel who work in the ambulance services across England and Wales will strike for 12 to 24 hours, creating an unfortunate situation where many people might not be able to get the medical help they need. As such, many top officials are urging the public to avoid risky behavior and behave in a “sensible” way during the strike in order to cut down on injuries.

Will Quince, who serves as the Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care, has gotten even more specific, urging the public to avoid contact sports and running.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast earlier, Quince said people should avoid “risky activity” during the strike, though he didn’t clarify what that meant. He was later pressed on those specifics during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live.

“If there is activity that people are undertaking tomorrow, whether it’s – for example – contact sport, they may want to review that,” said Quince. “Would I go running tomorrow if it was still icy? No I wouldn’t, because that would encompass additional risk.”

The Prime Minister was also asked what qualified as “risky behavior” but a spokesperson responded by sticking to generalities.

“I’m not going to get into a list,” said the PM spokesperson. “We would never recommend anyone put themselves in harm’s way on any given day.”

So if you’re thinking about playing rugby, soccer, or American football on Wednesday in the UK, don’t let Will Quince see you.