The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the first country to trial the use of airport sniffer dogs to detect COVID-19 on passengers, Business Traveller reports.
The experiment used police dogs to detect traces of COVID-19 on inbound travellers, with 92% accuracy reported.
The experiment avoided any direct contact between the dogs and passengers, as samples were taken from passengers’ armpits, then taken to police dogs in isolated rooms, with results available in less than a minute, the report said.
The use of sniffer dogs is an additional line of defence against COVID-19, with all travellers subject to strict regulations including PCR-testing on arrival for passengers from selected countries, and mandatory negative COVID-19 test certificates for all arrivals.
Following the successful trial, the practice could become commonplace at UAE airports soon, as well as large facilities such as malls, and at events, the report said.
