Nepal's Supreme Court, in an interim order, asked the government not to force people to wear masks and not to impose fines or keep them in holding centers for not wearing masks, reported The Himalayan Times. 

The government had not distributed masks free to the poor people, the single judge bench noted, saying, Nepal Police had no power to impose fines on people and keep them in holding centers for hours for not wearing masks.

However, the court said that it was the duty of the public to wear masks in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The court also directed authorities to arrange makeshift hospitals for the people who aren’t getting beds in hospitals.  

For this, the court said, the government should start recruiting health professionals to manage these makeshift hospitals. 

(SAM)