Quarantine facilities to accommodate over 500 required Currently 60 quarantine centres in operation islandwide By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Sri Lanka needs quarantine centres that can accommodate more than 500 people each, as a number of Sri Lankan expatriates waiting to return to the island need to be accommodated, according to Military Spokesman Brig. Chandana Wickramasinghe. He told The Morning that at present, Sri Lanka has quarantine centres with the capacity to accommodate the local cases, but in future, once Sri Lankan expatriates return, more such centres would be required. According to Wickramasinghe, at present, Sri Lanka has 60 quarantine centres countrywide, with 7,285 occupants currently placed under quarantine. “More of these centres require more space as everybody needs to be accommodated while maintaining one-metre distance to avoid congestion,” he stressed. Furthermore, requests were made by some individuals to accommodate them separately as families, he said. “Not all people can afford luxury accommodation or afford to stay in a hotel assigned as a quarantine centre, but they still look for some standard facilities. Therefore, with the Sri Lankan expatriates beginning to return, more quarantine centres would be needed,” Wickaramasinghe added.