COVID-19 travel restrictions in Ethiopia are forcing pregnant women to give birth at home, health workers say.

For Kenasa Kumera, receiving panicked phone calls from women going into labor has become an everyday occurrence.

Ever since Ethiopia implemented strict travel bans last month to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Marie Stopes International maternity center he manages in Adama, roughly 100 kilometers from the capital, Addis Ababa, has received up to 10 calls a day from women unable to reach his center to give birth.

The trend, he said, is of particular concern in poor areas with no ambulances and where traveling even small distances can be difficult.