In France you have to fill in a form before leaving the house, in Greece you have to send a text and not leave until you get permission texted back.
Those procedures are all about assisting the police in law enforcement. The legislation introduced a few weeks ago does not require that. You are allowed to leave home if you have a "reasonable excuse". A list of examples of "reasonable excuses" is provided, but it is
not exhaustive (the legislation says "
a reasonable excuse includes the need.." so indicating there could be others). Nor does it define the limits of some of the activities (e.g. the distance travelled to exercise).
As far as shopping goes, the law has determined what types of shops may open. But it does not determine what those shops may sell. So you get Tesco's (and others) selling bread and milk alongside dresses, socks and televisions. You also see people buying such a variety of goods. In its non-exhaustive list of reasonable excuses to go out, the legislation says people may leave home "
to obtain basic necessities, including food and medical supplies …". If you've left your home to get bread and milk then you satisfy the legislation. There's nothing to say you can't pick up a pair of socks whilst you're there. The notion that the police might determine what people may or may not buy and succeed in a prosecution should they buy contraband (provided they have satisfactorily shown why they left home) is fanciful.
STAY HOME... seems simple enough
ESSENTIAL JOURNEY ONLY... seems simple enough again !
The police are not the only ones who may not have a grasp on the legislation. Until yesterday, when accessing the TfL website for travel information, the customer was met with this message:
"Travel on public transport is for critical workers only making absolutely essential journeys,”
I don’t know on what authority such a view was taken. I also don’t know how those running TfL expect those without a car to make their essential trips for which they have a “reasonable excuse” to make. Perhaps they think that everywhere in the TfL area is within walking distance of a food shop, a pharmacy or a doctor’s surgery. Just to reinforce the message, at each bus stop across the capital is plastered a notice which says:
“You are only allowed to leave home if you are a critical worker and you cannot work at home.”
Again, totally false and something that might possibly leave an elderly or vulnerable person quite fearful when they arrive at the bus stop to catch a bus to get their basic necessities.
The police (and others) seem to have read into the legislation things that are not there. It's fine to say that the "spirit" of the law is what's important. But what's important should matters get to court is what the legislation says and how a court interprets it. It's true that courts often consider "what Parliament intended" (although Parliament had no say in the Coronavirus Restrictions as they were introduced via Statutory Instrument procedures). But I don't think anybody intended that somebody should end up in court for buying a pair of socks together with their bread and milk. That's what might happen if the police start searching shopping bags (not to mention that the risk of contamination whilst doing so far outweighs the risks posed by someone picking up a pair of socks).