Zimbabwe is withholding travel documents for thousands of returning nationals, following reports that some have escaped from isolation centres.

"In order to curtail the prevalence of people absconding from quarantine centres, Cabinet agreed that identification or travel documents will be collected from returnees on arrival [and returned to them] at the end of the quarantine period," Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said.

Agnes Mahomva, the head of Zimbabwe's Covid-19 response, said those escaping from quarantine centres have become a security concern.

At the weekend, the government published 48 names of people who escaped from quarantine centres.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that between April and May its centres at Zimbabwe's points of entry had handled 5,400 immigrants arriving from Zambia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa.