HARARE, Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe has placed more than 500 of its citizens returning from the U.K., South Africa and Botswana under a mandatory 21-day quarantine at the government’s cost.

Those under quarantine in Harare include Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Sudan Emmanuel Gumbo, who arrived via Ethiopian Airlines on Monday together with 29 Zimbabweans returning from the U.K.

“Dr. Gumbo is back in Harare on official business but has to be quarantined as per protocol.

“We do not know the status of those who are coming in. Some have letters saying they were screened before, but we are not taking chances,” Nick Mangwana, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, said on his personal Twitter handle.

According to Mangwana, 72 returnees who arrived at Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport on Monday are being housed at the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Administration and Management in the capital.

Meanwhile, United College in Bulawayo is housing 104 women. Bulawayo Polytechnic is housing 204 men and Plumtree High has 208 people.

Bulawayo is Zimbabwe’s second largest city while Plumtree is a town on the border with Botswana.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a 21-day lockdown that began on March 30 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. One of the measures is the mandatory 21-day quarantine of every returning Zimbabwean at various centers across the country.

Zimbabwe has so far recorded 18 confirmed coronavirus cases, including three deaths and one recovery. The country plans to test 40,000 people by the end of this month, according to government officials.