Czech Customs Administration to train six dogs capable of smelling COVID-19 by end of 2020

By the end of 2020, Czech border guards will train six dogs to recognise a human that is infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus. These will subsequently be used at airports and pensioner homes, the head of cynology at the Customs Administration announced on Monday. The dogs, a mix of Alsatians and crossbreeds, will be trained in a new hall at Kněževes near Prague.

Czech cynologist  Gustav Hotový proved the ability of dogs to smell the virus using COVID-19 positive and negative samples in October. Two dogs have already been trained in this method, according to Czech Television.

The cynologists say testing could be undertaken by having a possibly infectected individual swipe themselves with a piece of tissue at home and place the textile in a sterile ampule, after which the object would be smelt by a dog. This would mean that the whole testing process could be done in a space of hours.