Converting schools as quarantine centers for Military baseless: Defence Secretary

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No directive was issued to establish quarantine centres in schools for Tri-Forces personnel to undergo 14-day quarantine process, Defence Secretary Maj.Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said.

Refuting the claims by some people that military had taken Government schools to set up quarantine centers for military personnel, he said no school had been used to quarantine military personnel but they would be used as additional camps for them.

“After we issued a directive cancelling all leave and short passes for Tri-Forces to return to their respective bases, there was a huge influx of military personnel reporting to their respective camps,” he said.

The Defence Secretary said the Ministry had directed Tri-Forces Commanders with the approval of the Education Ministry to accommodate them in selected schools as the respective camps and bases were not spacious enough to accommodate soldiers, sailors and airmen hygienically while maintaining social distance, which was mandatory to contain the spread of coronavirus.

There were 54 military-run quarantine centres supported by the health authorities in the country. The total number of people, who are undergoing quarantine, as of today, is 3, 292 and 4,526 people who had completed final health checks and issued quarantine certificates, had left for their homes from those quarantine centres.

“Tri-Forces personnel who are suspected to have coronavirus will be sent to quarantine centres. Those who are accommodated in schools are wearing only masks but not protective gears like in those who are quarantine centres,” Maj. Gen. Gunaratne said urging people not to make such misleading statements to gain political mileages at this critical juncture as it is not ethically correct for them to make baseless statements.