Parents, staff and locals in Mullaitivu have protested against Sri Lanka military using schools in Mullaitivu to construct quarantine centres for army personnel suspected of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Around 60 parents of students at Muththuiyankaddu school in Oddusuddan, Mullaitivu led a safe protest in front of the school, where they observed social distancing measures, yesterday evening.  

Image courtesy of @saygi

Yesterday marked 43 years since the death of S J V Chelvanayakam, fondly referred to as 'Thanthai Chelva'. 

Chelvanayakam is known as the father of Tamil nationalism, and was responsible for spearheading the Vaddukoddai resolution, which was overwhelmingly ratified by the Tamil votes in the 1977 parliamentary elections. 

The Jaffna National College of Education in Kopay is being turned into a quarantine centre to allow three army soldiers to isolate themselves today.

The military had requested access to the students' hostels for use as quarantine centres, which they have been granted access to. 

A Sri Lankan navy officer from Vavuniya serving in the Welisara Navy Camp was confirmed positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) yesterday. After being tested for COVID-19 on Saturday at the Vavuniya Regional Health Service, the results given yesterday by Anuradhapura hospital confirmed that the officer has COVID-19.

The navy officer recently visited his house located in Mahakachakodi, Vavuniya when returning from the naval base. Following this, the officer and his family have been subject to strict self-isolation measures.

A one-year-old child and her three-year-old brother were stabbed to death in east London on Sunday evening.

The children, who the local community have identified as being from a Tamil family that fled Sri Lanka, died within hours of each other.

A 40-year-old man was taken to hospital in a critical condition, where he remains, with reports identifying him as the father of the children. He is thought to have stabbed the children and then attempted to take his own life.

A group of opposition parties have called on the Sri Lankan government to reconvene parliament, pledging they will not “attempt to defeat the government nor thwart any of the legitimate actions of the government during this period,” in joint letter sent this morning.

The letter, signed by seven opposition parties, including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Rauff Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen, and Mano Ganesan, called on Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to re-summon the parliament that he dissolved ahead of planned elections.

Sri Lankan authorities reportedly confirmed that at least 180 navy sailors have tested positive for the coronavirus, including at least 68 sailors who were on leave and in the community, as cases on the island continued to rise this week.

Shavendra Silva, the war crimes accused head of the army who is leading Colombo’s coronavirus task force, confirmed that 112 of the sailors that tested positive were inside the Welisara Navy Camp.

The father of a Tamil man who has been in an Indian prison for more than 28 years over his alleged association in the killing of the Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi, passed away in Jaffna.

Murugan alias Sriharan, was unable to attend his father’s funeral, as he remains imprisoned in Indai, despite the Tamil Nadu government’s proposition to release seven people who have been convicted over the killing. Earlier this year, India’s central government rejected the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal, citing it was to avoid “international ramifications”.

The Tamil Refugee Council has called on the Australian government to release the Tamil asylum- seeking family and allow them to return to Biloela, Australia.

“The Australian government is spending obscene amounts of money to make an example of the family by holding them on Christmas Island and forcing them to fight for their safety through the courts,” Aran Mylvaganam, spokesperson for the Tamil Refugee Council said.

Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Minister and State Councillor, discussed the response to the coronavirus pandemic with Dinesh Gunawardena, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister.

Reports have noted that Wang Yi emphasised that certain countries were mobilising to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to suit their own political agenda and to shift blame onto the World Health Organisation (WHO).