DUBAI: Jordan said 5,200 citizens, who were stranded overseas when coronavirus shuttered international travel, have returned to the country, in the ongoing third phase of repatriation mission, state-run new agency Petra has reported.

Coronavirus Crisis Cell Operations Director Mazin Faraya said the returnees have been placed under mandatory isolation at hotels in Dead Sea and Amman.

He said those who will finish the 14-day quarantine period will be given electronic wristbands for continuous monitoring.

Faraya said most of Jordan’s new COVID-19 cases were detected from returning citizens, and that mandatory quarantine has helped reduce local transmission of the virus.

The third phase of the repatriation efforts will continue until June 24 with expected returnees from neighboring countries Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine.

The next phase of the mission will begin on July 10.