CAIRO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday that the authorities will return more than 16,000 nationals stranded abroad in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The flights, quarantine and the medical tests from May 3 to May 9 have cost the government 28 million Egyptian pounds (1.78 million U.S. dollars), according to a government statement.

Earlier in the day, 311 Egyptians stranded in Canada arrived back by an exceptional EgyptAir flight as part of the country's efforts to return its nationals abroad.

The returnees have been taken to some hotels in the Red Sea city of Marsa Alam to spend 14 days in quarantine.

Egypt suspended the international flights on March 19 to curb the spread of COVID-19. Since then, more than 3,000 Egyptians abroad have returned home, according to the emigration ministry.

The Egyptian government has brought back stranded Egyptians from across the world, including the United States, Britain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda, Rwanda, Chad and Niger.