Large crowds were seen jostling to bid farewell to Arumugam Thondaman, the leader of a tea plantation union and a government minister. The 55-year-old died of a heart attack on Tuesday and is due to be cremated Sunday at Nuwara Eliya, in the country's tea-growing highlands. Authorities had imposed a 24-hour curfew in an unsuccessful attempt to stop crowds from visiting Thondaman's body. The doctors expressed "displeasure" over the public farewell for Thondaman at a time when health authorities had asked people to restrict funeral attendees to close family members. Sri Lanka has reported 10 deaths and 1,559 infections since the island country identified its first Covid-19 patient in January.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 30, 2020 14:37 UTC