KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a warning today stating that the authorities will take stern action against those violating the lockdown-rules in the wake of widespread protests across various parts of the country, calling out government's poor response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The ministry has said that its attention has been drawn towards acts of defiance driven by various excuses and under pretext of forwarding demands.

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"We've noticed a recent trend on social media of summoning general public under various excuses to gather at specific places and create unnecessary crowding. These acts go against the very essence of lockdown rules that were issued to avert the spreading of coronavirus," it said in a statement issued Thursday.

"Anyone violating the lockdown orders could face jail term of one to six months or be fined a sum of Rs 100 to Rs 600, under Article 3 of Infectious Diseases Act, 1964," the ministry warned.

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The district administration can, stepping on the said act, take action against anybody violating the government orders, the statement read further.

With the easing of lockdown, the ministry has also appealed to the public to abide by the government instructions to control the spread of contagion in the country.

The government has decided to uplift the restrictions in three phases to normalise the situation after around three months of lockdown.

Meanwhile, Nepal has reported 4,614 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection across the nation, so far.

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