THE government must seriously reconsider the way it has been running the coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine centres following unflattering remarks carried in a recent United Nations report.

Although the report raised the red flag over a raft of issues, including massive looting of funds by government officials and people linked to the political elite, the grim picture it painted of isolation centres seems to justify why a number of people had fled the centres.

The UN sentiments that the deplorable state of the quarantine facilities and lack of standard operating procedures have put thousands of lives at risk means that we need to go back to the drawing board and make the necessary investments into these centres so that they can fully serve their purposes.

The authorities need to address this issue as a matter of urgency given that returning citizens, many of whom occupy these centres, have accounted for the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

It is shocking that a quarantine centre would not ensure adherence to social distancing, standard hygiene, adequate staff and medical care, as is the case at these centres, implying that a significant number of returning citizens might actually contract the virus at these centres.