UAE police dogs detect Covid-19 at Dubai airport
The K9 sniffer dogs can detect traces of the virus from passengers with 92 per cent accuracy
Travellers arriving at airports in the UAE could be among the first passengers in the world to undergo Covid-19 detection by police dogs.
K9 sniffer dogs have been stationed at airports across the country to help detect traces of the coronavirus from passenger samples.
A video published by WAM shows the specially trained dogs at Dubai International Airport working to track possible infections using swabs gathered from arriving passengers.
“An area was dedicated to detect Covid-19 using K9 police dogs at Dubai International Airport,” explained Major Salah Al Mazrooei from Dubai Police.
“Samples are taken in collaboration with partners from Dubai Health Authority; results are out in less than one minute,” he added.
It’s thought that dogs are able to detect traces of Covid-19 from samples of human scent.
The video shows a police dog in an isolated room at the airport detecting the virus from a range of samples, and sitting to indicate a possible infection.
The UAE has been using police dogs as an additional defence against the coronavirus. All travellers must abide by current regulations for arriving or departing the country.
These include PCR-testing on arrival for passengers arriving from select countries and mandatory negative Covid-19 test certificates for all arrivals from August 1.
For more detailed information, travellers can contact their airline.
