The coronavirus pandemic has instilled a global sense of panic as the death toll continues to climb.

Today marks 32 years since the death of Annai Poopathy, a Tamil woman who fasted unto death in protest against the atrocities committed by Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF).

<p>Mahinda Rajapaksa, the prime minister, called on the Election Commission to fix a new parliamentary election date, despite threat of coronavirus.</p> <p>Colombo Page<u><a href="http://www.colombopage.com/archive_20A/Apr18_1587233362CH.php"> reported </a></u>that the Prime Minister issued a statement stating that “when the poll cannot be held on the day fixed by the President, the Elections Commission is mandatorily required to fix another day for the poll.”</p>

Sri Lanka’s President’s Media Division has reported that the state-imposed curfew will be temporarily lifted to restore normalcy despite the increased militarisation of the North and East and deteriorated living conditions which have led people to starvation.

The state-imposed curfew is expected to be lifted in all districts except Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Puttalam, Kandy, Kegalle and Ampara on Monday 20 April at 5 am and will be reimposed at 8 pm that evening.  

Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya commemorated deaths that have taken place in the diaspora due to the coronavirus this week, in a remembrance ceremony on their 1,154^th day of their protest.

Sri Lanka’s Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) published a report discussing potential COVID-19 exit strategies which included the proposed racial profiling of Muslims. 

The document, which was dated 4 April 2020, is claimed to have been presented to Sri Lankan, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Shortly after publication online, the document was removed and references to monitoring the Muslim populations and the Information and Communication Technology Agency were removed.

A Tamil man in Jaffna has been arrested by Sri Lankan security forces, for allegedly selling bananas during curfew.

The man was arrested by Kopay police yesterday before being released on bail.

“We’re watching you,” warns Amnesty International in a video to Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other leaders around the world, who are using the coronavirus outbreak to crack down on civil liberties.

“Leaders who threaten human rights are using a pandemic to expand and abuse their powers instead of focusing on helping doctors and nurses," said the video. "To those leaders: we’re watching you.”

Commenting on the president’s recent pardon of Sunil Rathnayake, a Sri Lankan soldier, the rights group said that “releasing war criminals won’t solve a health crisis.”

Samagi Jana Balavegaya leader, Sajith Premadasa, highlighted the government’s failure to adequately provide relief and insisted “the government relief is not reaching people properly since the relief program is through the local government political leadership.”

Premadasa called on the government to implement a mechanism to provide relief to people affected by the military-enforced lockdown, through state officials including village officials, in a statement made yesterday.

Kodikamam police in Jaffna arrested local councillors providing voluntary relief packages to vulnerable villagers of Chavakachcheri, that have been struggling with the pressures of the military-enforced curfew.

Local councillors and volunteers have been scrutinised and often arrested in the past weeks for aiding the vulnerable people affected by the lockdown, despite having curfew passes.