Passengers wearing protective masks walk at the arrival hall of Ben Gurion International Airport on Feb 22, 2020. (Photo: AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI)

JERUSALEM: Nearly 200 Israeli pupils were ordered to begin a two-week quarantine from Sunday (Feb 23) after having come into contact with South Korean tourists who contracted COVID-19, the education ministry said.

South Korean members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus toured Israeli sites between Feb 8 and Feb 15 and upon their return home 18 of them were discovered to be infected with the virus.