Dr Vishna Rasiah, a consultant neonatologist in the Midlands, has died after contracting coronavirus whilst on the frontlines of the country’s National Health Service.

Dr Rasiah, who has family in Malaysia and in Trinidad, worked at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust and was the clinical lead in the region for neonatal work.

At least 13 NHS workers have now died in the midlands alone, with more than 100 reported deaths of health and care workers across the country.

<p>30 Navy personnel at Welisara Navy camp have tested positive for Covid-19, Army commander Shavendra Silva said.&nbsp;</p> <p>As a result, 4,000 Navy personnel and their families have been directed to self-isolate, the Newswire <u><a href="http://www.newswire.lk/2020/04/24/4000-navy-personnel-of-the-welisara-n…">reports</a></u>.&nbsp;</p>

 

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.

We will be highlighting stories around the world from those who are working to keep us all safe.

Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, and accused war criminal, Kamal Gunaratne, vowed to “punishing the culprits” behind the Easter Sunday bombing and to strengthen “national security”.

The victims of the Easter Sunday bomb attack in Sri Lanka last year, were paid tribute by families of the disappeared in Vavuniya, on Tuesday.

Tuesday marked one year since the incident that took away the lives of hundreds of civilians in a coordinated unprecedented act of violence.

Sri Lanka’s president boasted on Twitter earlier this week that his regime was ranked 9th in the “Global Response to Infectious Diseases Index” – a ranking system devised by a little known Australian accountancy organisation that has close ties to Sri Lanka’s ruling party.

“Honored to have #LKA ranked 9^th,” tweeted Rajapaksa this week, as the Sri Lankan military led the state’s coronavirus strategy, with accused war criminal Shavendra Silva leading the coronavirus task force.

An initiative to provide free walk-in medical camps for the villagers of Madu in Mannar, was established to assist them with their healthcare needs at a time where the COVID-19 pandemic has made access to check-ups and medicine very difficult. 

The second instalment of these mobile medical camps were set up for villagers on Saturday (18^th April), where around 100 people were able to get free medical check-ups and medicines.

More than a decade after the end of the armed conflict, the Sri Lankan military continues to occupy vast swathes of land reports Reuters, as it spoke to Tamils on the island and abroad who are attempting to reclaim their land.

Reuters spoke to 44-year-old Raj, a Tamil who travelled from Australia to his village of Kurumbasiddy, which since 1990 has been occupied by the Sri Lankan army. Along with 100 other families, the area they were living was declared a High Security Zone and remains under the reigns of the military more than 3 decades later.

The British and American envoys to Sri Lanka met with the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Rauf Hakeem this week, where he says they expressed “solidarity”.

“Had the pleasure of being spoken to by both HE British High Commissioner @SarahHultonFCO and HE Ambassador Alaina Teplitz, this morning,” tweeted Hakeem yesterday. “Thank you for inquiring into many matters of concern & expression of solidarity.”

<p>The Government of Japan has granted Sri Lanka $1.2 million through international organisations to combat Covid-19.</p> <p>The financial assistance through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was “part of an emergency response to the new coronavirus infection control, aiming to strengthen the capacities of developing countries including Sri Lanka in the field of health and medical care," the Japanese embassy wrote in a press release.</p>