Ahead by a nose: Covid sniffing dogs prevent surveillance overreach

A British security agency says it is giving up on high-tech solutions to the pandemic in favor of Covid-19 detecting sniffer dogs — because they are a “softer touch.” Already deployed at Helsinki airport and in airports in the United Arab Emirates, researchers say specially-trained dogs can sniff out a person infected with Covid-19 within seconds — and with almost 100% accuracy. “The results are great,” said Jonathan Ratcliffe, director of the UK security company Guards, during a phone call. Ratcliffe is advocating for the use of dogs in shopping centers and airports. “With the right deployment I think dogs would be really good: they’re a lot less intrusive and negative.”