NEW DELHI: The Army is setting up five quarantine facilities for around 1,500 people, in addition to the one set up earlier at Manesar , even as the armed forces have directed all formations and units to postpone or avoid all non-essential mass gatherings like festivals, welfare activities and parties as well as travel to foreign countries in view of the coronavirus outbreak.“Apart from the Manesar facility that can handle 300 people, the five new quarantine units are being established at Jaisalmer, Suratgarh, Secunderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. The 132 armed forces hospitals have also been asked to set up isolation wards and have separate OPDs for screening of symptomatic cases to prevent avoidable transmission,” said an official.In separate instructions, the Army, Navy and IAF asked their personnel to avoid mass gatherings and visits to crowded places like movie halls and shopping malls as well as defer all non-essential travel, especially to other countries.All officers and jawans who have had any contact with a suspected case of coronavirus have been asked to immediately seek medical advice, while personnel and their families with a recent travel history to Iran , Italy, Singapore and Korea have been asked to check into a quarantine facility for 14 days.All military stations will undertake regular health information and counseling activities, while medical teams will also check personnel reporting for morning attendances, physical trainings and parades for symptoms of cold, cough and fever. “All suspected cases will be immediately referred to the nearest medical room or military hospital, while taking proper care to prevent cross-contamination,” said an official.The Navy has already deferred its mega “Milan” exercise, which would have witnessed the participation of navies from over 32 countries, which was to be held off the coast of Visakhapatnam from March 18 to 28.Earlier, the Army had set up the quarantine facility near Manesar to handle 300 the Indian students being evacuated from China in January, while the IAF had dispatched a C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft on February 26 to transport around 15 tonnes of medical supplies to Wuhan and bring back 76 Indians and 36 nations from friendly neighbouring countries.