UPDATE 4-Australia sends troops to help contain virus on ore ship near Port Hedland

(Adds easing of travel restrictions in Western Australia in
paragraph 18, and PIX and TV tags)
SYDNEY, Sept 29 (Reuters) - 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.
Seventeen of the 21 crew 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, and seven remain on board as part of a nine-person
crew, authorities said.
Oldendorff said the crew change on Sept. 5 in Manila
complied with all protocols.
"All crew members tested negative for the virus before
leaving the Philippines," Oldendorff said.
The ship, which was scheduled to collect manganese ore for
use in steel production, is anchored off Port Hedland on
Australia's northwest coast.
The port is used by some of Australia's top iron ore miners,
including BHP Group BHP.AX and Fortescue Metals Group
FMG.AX , but operations had not been impacted, the Pilbara
Ports Authority said.
A spokesman for privately held manganese producer
Consolidated Minerals, which had expected the vessel, said a new
ship had been chartered and would arrive early next week.
The disruption would not impact annual shipments, it said.
Western Australia closed its borders early in the pandemic.
It now bars cruise ships but allows export carriers and limited
air arrivals. It has had no local virus cases for nearly six
months.
"We are well prepared to manage the situation in Port
Hedland, and every possible measure is being put in place to
protect the local community," Western Australia Premier Mark
McGowan told reporters on Tuesday.
"We need to carefully manage this situation and those in
hotel quarantine are being kept away from the public and under
strict supervision."
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.
Australia's coronavirus hotspot state of Victoria on Tuesday
reported 10 new infections in the past 24 hours. That follows a
second wave of contagion that was infecting more than 700 people
a day in August.
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 last month.
Victoria, which accounts for the bulk of Australia's 27,000
infections and 882 deaths, on Sunday lifted some of the
restrictions, including nightly curfews.
Progress made in Victoria has encouraged Western Australia
to soften its travel restrictions with the hotspot state,
Premier McGowan said.
From Oct. 5, those arriving from Victoria will be able to
quarantine at home rather than in a hotel.

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