The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has continued to rise in Sri Lanka, reaching a new high of 162 this morning.

There have been 5 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 so far.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has put out a statement condemning the spread of fake news on social media platforms with various false messages claiming to be from him.

On Twitter the Sri Lankan President stated;

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has been promoting the potential use of black tea as an “immunity booster”, as the government began arresting people on the island for spreading “fake news”.

Updated 2230 GMT

Sri Lankan police officers arrested a member of the Chavakachcheri Municipal Council for an alleged curfew violation earlier this week, despite the man carrying a valid permit as he delivered supplies to under privileged families in Jaffna.

The council member was arrested alongside three other volunteers whilst delivering food in the Varani area.

The vehicle they had been travelling in was also seized by the police. 

Global human rights group, Amnesty International, released a press statement in response to Sri Lanka cremating their coronavirus (COVID-19) victims, stating the authorities “must respect the right of religious minorities to carry out the final rites of their relatives in accordance with their own traditions unless they can show that restrictions are needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”  

Sri Lanka has forcibly cremated the bodies of two of the early COVID-19 victims, on instructions from the authorities, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) suggesting it was not essential to do so.

Sri Lanka’s defence secretary warned that the military was still “are kept on high alert on other security threats” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic including the “re-grouping of certain elements”, as a military enforced curfew engulfed much of the island.

Sri Lanka’s presidential pardon of a soldier convicted of massacring Tamils is “a slap in the face to the member countries” of the UN Human Rights Council, said the International Council of Eelam Tamils in a statement this week, as they reiterated calls for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court. 

Tamils across the North East are finding it increasingly difficult, to cope with the hardships incurred from the curfews, that have been imposed across the country to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19). 

A lack of support from the Sri Lankan government during the curfews has particularly affected Tamils from small villages, the elderly and those from low-income families, prompting the Tamil diaspora and local volunteers to help out instead. 

The Human Rights Commissions of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) expressed “deep concern” over the pardon granted to a soldier who was convicted of massacring Tamil civilians, in a statement released this week.

Staff Sergeant Sunil Rathnayake, who a Sri Lankan court found guilty of the Mirusuvil massacre, was pardoned by Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week.