One cannot always just tell police to enforce restrictions and that is that. Courts have the right to review laws and decrees, after all, and in some countries courts have found that the government exceeded its authority by imposing mask laws, social distancing, or business closures. Consequently, police could give you a fine, but that fine would be dismissed when you go to court. After a series of defeats in court, ruling parties may then ask police to stop enforcing the restrictions, because the embarrassment could help cost them the next election.

Again, COVID restrictions ultimately require some kind of mandate from the people. If a country’s government is unable to legally impose restrictions within its current constitutional order, and it is unable to gather sufficient votes to amend the constitution, then it will simply have to limit itself to public-health measures that the people will accept.