POLICE in some parts of Spain have been given a collective slap on the wrist for booking people who go to supermarkets to buy goods which they do not consider 'of primary necessity'.
The Guardia Civil force for the province of Alicante recently released a list of groceries which 'justify' leaving the house to go to a supermarket – staples such as fish, meat, eggs, milk or their equivalents, sugar or sweeteners, cooking oil, bread, beans and pulses, and fruit and vegetables – and non-edibles such as 'personal hygiene products' and home cleaning items.
Adding other goods the list did not include as 'essentials' when buying 'items of primary necessity' would not be considered a problem, but cases were reported recently of people being reprimanded or fined for going out to buy fizzy drinks and chocolate, or jars of jam.
Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has stressed that no such lists should exist and has ordered officers to stop making these, and to cease to 'police' people's shopping baskets.
He says not letting people buy whatever they want to from shops which are authorised to remain open to the public would be a 'breach of their rights'.
“Our intention is to tighten up the national quarantine conditions, but not to trample on people's rights,” Grande-Marlaska stated.
The 'rules', which the minister says are 'not authorised', had started to generate concern among the public whose personal views on their 'dietary needs' differed from those on the list – for some, running out of Coca-Cola or jam are serious enough to warrant a trip to a shop, and there is no issue with supply nor any rationing of goods – but the minister's having put a stop to these restrictions mean they can now breathe more easily.
Whilst most trips to shops do, in fact, involve buying something on the unauthorised list – even if it is just a carton of milk – the message that going out to buy anything that is sold by a shop that legally remains open, such as a supermarket, tobacconist or news agency, is permitted, has been reinforced.
This said, the general public is urged to stay indoors as much as possible and avoid going out to buy items they do not really need 'just as an excuse' to leave the house – whilst nobody in authority is allowed to question what people consider, personally, that they really need, common sense and social responsibility are key and not going out unless you have a good reason to do so is paramount.
The quarantine restrictions are working, however: The number of newly-diagnosed cases of Coronavirus, and the number of deaths, are slowing down, and medics working at Madrid's temporary hospital in the IFEMA trade fair centre say patients being discharged are now exceeding patients being admitted.
At the time of publication, 140,510 cases had been confirmed, of whom 13,789 have died and 43,208 have recovered and are now symptom-free as well as testing negative for Covid-19.
