Israel sends S.Koreans from country amid coronavirus

By Mustafa Deveci

JERUSALEM (AA) - On orders from the government, Israel is shipping out South Koreans on special flights amid concerns over the deadly coronavirus, Israeli media reported Monday.

Airport authorities reported that up to 622 South Koreans left the country – most of them tourists – since Sunday night, and that some 800-900 still remain in the country.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that all South Koreans in Israel be immediately flown out of the country after South Korean authorities said some 29 tourists returning from Israel and Palestine carried the deadly coronavirus.

Nearly 200 Israeli students who met with the people in question were put on home quarantine.

About 200 foreign nationals were denied entry to Israel following their departure from South Korea, the Times of Israel reported Saturday.

Israel’s Health Ministry on Friday reported its first coronavirus case in the country.

The deadly coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, first appeared in Wuhan, China.

The death toll across the globe has reached 2,362, with the majority in China.

There are over 75,000 confirmed cases.