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Canberra, Feb 6 (IANS) Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said on Saturday that some 2,200 US Marines will begin arriving in the country's Northern Territory over the next five months.
In a statement issued here, the Defence Minister said that the 2021 and also the 10th Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) will consist of around 2,200 troops by June, reports Xinhua news agency.
Reynolds said that under special Covid-19 plans, the incoming Marines will be tested for coronavirus three times, once 72 hours prior to departure and twice while undergoing 14 days of quarantine in a secure facility.
The 2021 MRF-D would arrive in groups of between 200-500 personnel and would quarantine in the facility so as not to take places in Australia's hotel quarantine system, according to Reynolds.
"The MRF-D and Australian Defence Force (ADF) will conduct a comprehensive range of training activities, including humanitarian assistance, security operations and high-end live-fire exercises," the Defence Minister said in the statement.
In 2020, the annual rotation of Marines was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, and a modified rotation of about 1,200, roughly half the usual numbers, trained in the Northern Territory.
As of Saturday, Australia has registered 28,842 confirmed coronavirus cases, and the numbers of locally and overseas acquired cases in the last 24 hours were zero and six respectively, according to the Department of Health.
The death toll stood at 909.
--IANS
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