- Australian soldiers are being deployed to Port Hedland to help contain a coronavirus outbreak on a bulk carrier that last changed crews in the seafaring city of Manila.
- The ship, which was scheduled to collect manganese ore which is used in steel production, is anchored off Port Hedland on the coast of Western Australia.
- Seventeen of the 21-crew members on the ship have tested positive for the virus.
- Ten of the infected crew have been moved to hotel quarantine while seven infected workers remain on board as part of a nine-person crew.
- Australia has reported more than 27,000 cases and 882 deaths from the virus, many in care homes for the elderly.
Australian defence personnel are being deployed to Port Hedland, one of the world’s largest iron ore loading ports, to help contain a coronavirus outbreak on a bulk carrier that last changed crews in the major seafaring city of Manila, reports Reuters.
COVID cases aboard bulk carrier
Seventeen of the 21 crew members of the carrier have tested positive for the virus, ship owner Oldendorff Carriers said in a statement.
Ten of the infected crew members have been moved to hotel quarantine while seven infected workers remain on board as part of a nine-person crew, authorities said.
Oldendorff said that the Manila crew change on September 5 complied with all protocols.
“All crew members tested negative for the virus before leaving the Philippines,” Oldendorff said.
Read More: COVID Cases Rise By 7 Aboard Moored Bulk Carrier
The ship, which was scheduled to collect manganese ore which is used in steel production, is anchored off Port Hedland on Australia’s northwest coast.
- Western Australia state contained the virus early in the pandemic by closing its international and domestic borders.
- It now bars cruise ship arrivals but allows export carriers and limited international air arrivals.
- All international arrivals in Australia face mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.
Up to 10 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were expected to be deployed to Port Hedland after a request for assistance from the state government, an ADF spokesman said in a statement.
Second wave eases
Australia’s coronavirus hotspot state of Victoria on Tuesday (September 29) reported 10 new infections in the past 24 hours, turning around a second contagion wave that only last month was infecting more than 700 people every day.
The country’s second-most populous state has placed nearly 5 million residents of its capital Melbourne under one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns since early August.
The state, which accounts for the bulk of the country’s more than 27,000 infections and 882 deaths, on Sunday lifted some of the restrictions, including nightly curfews.
A key indicator, the rolling 14-day average, fell to 18.2, tracking ahead of state government expectations, officials said.
“That continuous improvement will serve us well as we continue to open up,” Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters. “This strategy is working (and) is delivering us those lower numbers.”
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Source: Reuters
