The following poem, reproduced from Adi Magazine, has been written by an activist based in Jaffna, working with war-affected Tamil communities.

The mother of a healthcare worker on the frontlines of Britain’s NHS writes about how it feels to be the parent of a key worker during the coronavirus pandemic.

With healthcare workers across the globe working to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, we look at some of the Tamils on the frontlines of the battle to save lives.

From nurses and doctors to our paramedics and porters, every single contribution is invaluable. And alongside thousands of other workers, the Tamil community has been actively involved in efforts to fight the pandemic.

Sri Lanka's government announced that the island-wide curfew is to be extended until April 20 as the number of coronavirus cases rises to 238. 

The districts of Colombo, Puttalam, Jaffna,  Kandy and Kalutara are still being identified as "high risk zones". 

There have been over 19,000 arrests for violating curfew regulations since the curfew was first imposed on March 20. 

 

 

A Tamil family of four from Biloela - fighting deportation since being detained in March 2018 - will find out whether they can stay in Australia when the Federal Court delivers its decision on the family’s last-ditch legal bid, over the phone.

The family’s court proceedings which became a matter of nationwide attention and usually sees large crowds of community members and supporters, will have its final decision delivered directly to lawyers over the phone this Friday, due to social distancing restrictions implemented because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, has called for a partial lift of the state-imposed lockdown, which aimed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, to maintain the economy.

Wickremesinghe’s statement came yesterday as he raised concerns over Sri Lanka’s testing program stating:

“I do not know whether Sri Lanka has necessary equipment to carry out testing. Government actually failed to get testing equipment, ventilators and face masks initially”

The People for Equality And Relief in Lanka (PEARL) condemned the Sri Lanka government’s decision to make cremations compulsory for coronavirus (COVID-19) victims as “an affront to religious sensibilities” and that the decision “further displays the state’s persistent disregard for the sensibilities of non-Sinhala Buddhist communities,” in a press release issued yesterday.  

PEARL insisted that “Sri Lanka persists in implementing measures that marginalise its ethnic communities and religious minorities,” as we near the one-year anniversary of the Easter bombings and the subsequent riots targeted against the Muslim community.

<p>The Alliance of Independent Professionals (AIP) said that restrictive journalism and ethnic discrimination are among the key concerns in Sri Lanka’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.</p> <p>In their analysis of Sri Lanka’s response to the pandemic, the AIP stated that the Sri Lankan media “plays a subservient role at present, restricting their journalism to the verbatim reproduction of government messages and communiques, avoiding any investigative journalism for fear of military and intelligence services.”</p>

<p>Sri Lankan police have arrested 24 people in Trincomalee during celebrations of Tamil New Year as they broke the state-imposed curfew.</p> <p>The Colombo Page&nbsp;reports that 11 people were arrested whilst preparing to boil milk at Bhadrakali Amman Kovil in Trincomalee. Further arrests were undertaken at Gayathri Kovil in Uppuveli Kanniya area of Trincomalee.</p> <p>The Colombo Page&nbsp;further reports that the Sri Lankan police are deploying plainclothes officers for special operations and to survey the public and arrest those breaking curfew or engaging in illegal alcohol trafficking.&nbsp;</p>

Sri Lankan naval soldiers attacked Tamil fishermen in Poonakari in two separate attacks last week, with troops beating and biting the fishermen.