ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia 

At least 1,300 migrants who have returned to Ethiopia are currently completing their mandatory COVID-19 quarantine across the country, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Saturday.

More than 25,800 Ethiopian migrants have been flown back home since April 1 after losing their jobs abroad due to the pandemic, the IOM’s Ethiopia office said in a weekly update.

“Over 1,300 new returnee migrants were registered in the last week,” it said.

The IOM said it is supporting 34 quarantine centers in Ethiopia and has provided COVID-19 screening for 4,652 individuals at these facilities and other government centers.

Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian workers have lost their jobs in Middle East nations and neighboring countries.

Dina Mufti, spokesperson for Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Friday that the government is making efforts to facilitate the return of all migrant workers and ensure their safety through its missions overseas.

Ethiopia’s COVID-19 case count reached 37,665 on Friday, including 637 deaths and 13,913 recoveries.