Background COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the lack of adequate and appropriate quarantine capacity globally Most countries lack the knowledge and/or capacity to set up and manage quarantine facilities at a national scale Methods The State of Qatar developed a systematic plan to create and manage quarantine facilities for persons with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection or returning travelers and residents A checklist was developed to streamline the process and to help other institutions requiring such guidance Results Three distinct stages were identified: acquisition, commissioning and active operations Steps required for each stage were identified and added to the checklist Conclusion We share our experience and a checklist for setting up new quarantine capacity at a national level Such checklists can serve as a critical tool to quickly and efficiently ramp up capacity in this setting