Israeli and Palestinian authorities sought to quell fears of a potential local outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus) after learning that South Korean pilgrims who had toured some of the holy land's most popular sites were later found to be carrying the virus.
The 18 tourists, who tested positive for coronavirus after returning to South Korea, earlier this month visited sites including Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Judea and Samaria, and Masada, an ancient fortress in southern Israel's Judean Desert.
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In accordance with the Health Ministry's directives, 90 students and 10 teachers from an Afula high-school, who had visited Masada at the time of the South Korean group's visit, have been ordered to self-quarantine.
The students and staff were asked to remain in isolation until Wednesday. None are reported to have symptoms of the virus.
The Health Ministry published the South Korean group's itinerary and said it was carrying out an "epidemiological investigation" to track any potential spread. It ordered anyone who was in close contact with the group to report it to the ministry and to stay at home for 14 days while monitoring their health.
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry issued similar instructions for the Palestinian territories.
Additionally, on February 12, 60 students from a high-school in Kiryat Haim, their five teachers and a security guard also came into contact with the South Korean tourists. All have been ordered into self-quarantine, although none of them are reported to have symptoms of the virus either.
"At the moment there's complete hysteria," a teacher from the Kiryat Haim high-school told Israel Hayom. "Not only from the parents and students, but the teachers as well. It still isn't clear to us how many people we're talking about, because the students who went on the trip were mostly from one class at the school, but they were joined by other students, educational staff, some parents, medics and security guards."
The teacher added, "We still don't have all the information and the WhatsApp groups are boiling over with concerned parents and many others who want to know what's going on."
Twelve Border Police officers who had guarded the South Korean pilgrims in Hebron have also been put into isolation.
The Foreign Ministry called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of what it called "the pilgrims affair" and, if needed, to take steps to explain the situation to others around the world.
Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said in a statement that he has instructed ministry officials "to support any strict decisions issued by the Health Ministry on preventing the entry of foreigners from various world countries who could pose a health risk to Israel's population."
"Our main consideration is the health of Israeli residents and preserving Israel's ability to maintain and grow ties with countries around the world, as a state that adheres to strict rules and has not been touched by the coronavirus," the statement added.
An Israeli woman who was aboard the coronavirus-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess tested positive for the virus after returning to Israel on Friday but was in good condition and not showing any symptoms, health officials said. Three other Israelis are being treated in Japan after contracting the virus on the cruise ship.
Meanwhile, a South Korean airliner that landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport Saturday evening has been sent back to Seoul after 12 Israelis on board were evacuated and quarantined. The airplane, with some 200 people aboard, was taxied away from the allotted terminal.
Yonhap news agency cited Seoul's Foreign Ministry as registering a strong protest with the Israeli government. The South Korean Foreign Ministry told the Israeli government that no excessive, unreasonable measures should be taken against South Korean nationals, according to the report.
In a briefing Saturday evening, Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov announced that Israelis returning from South Korea and Japan would be required to self-quarantine for 14 days. Such guidelines are already in effect for those returning from China, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau.
The moves to ban travelers or advise against visiting countries aside from China has reportedly sparked consternation among Foreign Ministry officials, who have raised concerns over possible diplomatic fallout and damage to burgeoning tourism and business ties.
Several new global hotspots have begun to emerge as the virus spreads, from Iran to Italy, leading authorities to take stricter measures at their borders.
South Korea and China both reported a rise in new virus cases on Sunday, as the South Korean prime minister warned that the fast-spreading outbreak linked to a local church and a hospital in the country's southeast had entered a "more grave stage."
Some virus clusters have shown no direct link to travel to China. The death toll in Iran climbed to six, the highest outside China, and a dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown as authorities tested hundreds of people who came into contact with an estimated 79 confirmed cases there. Two people have died in Italy.
Mainland China reported 648 new infections for a total of 76,936. The daily death toll fell slightly to 97. In all, 2,442 people have died in the country from COVID-19.
Globally, more than 78,000 people have been infected in 29 countries.
Meital Yisour-Beit Or, Shimon Yaish, Noam Dvir and Daniel Siryoti contributed to this report.
