Heavy deployment of Sri Lankan police and military in Jaffna last month
Sri Lankan army commander Shavendra Silva, told the Colombo Gazette that nearly 3000 people have been quarantined in Jaffna due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
In a meeting of the the National Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPC), Silva said the situation in Jaffna was given “special attention.”
A number of pathways and public places in Jaffna have been closed including the bus stand in the district in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. Restrictions were also imposed on wedding gatherings and on the number of people attending funeral processions.
Some restrictions on movement in Jaffna were reported to be lifted on Friday. The main bus stand in the city has been reopened.
Since the pandemic outbreak last year, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed accused war criminal Shavendra Silva to head the coronavirus taskforce, overseeing the country's response to the pandemic. The militarised response to COVID-19 has also led to the adoption of gratuitous measures effectively ramping up the surveillance and intimidation of Tamils and Muslims.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
