By Sarah Hannan Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) politburo member and National People's Power (NPP) Kandy District Leader K.D. Lalkantha said the JVP is willing to take responsibility for at least 20,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers in foreign countries, if the Government will allow them to return to the country. “There are still about 40,000 Sri Lankans who are stuck in foreign countries as they are not permitted to travel to Sri Lanka. If the screening mechanism is well established at the airports, we should look at a way to bring these migrant workers back to Sri Lanka immediately.” Lalkantha also noted that the JVP will take responsibility in finding suitable quarantine facilities for the 20,000 migrant workers that they are promising to take care of, and it will possibly look at establishing quarantine centres in each district, allocating 1,000 persons per district. Moreover, the party will also work with the healthcare authorities to carry out the quarantine procedures. “If the hospitals are unable to release their staff, then we will seek the expertise of the retired healthcare workers. But, we as a political party will not be able to carry out this task if we do not have the support from the Government and the healthcare authorities.” The JVP is at present reaching out to generous persons to finance the task of preparing the quarantine centres and equipping them with the necessary amenities. The next step they would have to take is to recruit healthcare professionals to be stationed at these quarantine centres.