Forbes (02/08/21) Glatter, Robert

With the National Basketball Association having lifted its ban on travel between cities and admitting fans into home games in nine cities, the Miami Heat is deploying trained dogs to detect COVID-19. CNN reported that the canines are supplied by the startup SNIFF and the Global K9 Protection Group. SNIFF CEO Aron Shteierman said his company does not use COVID-19's underlying SARS-CoV-2 virus to train the dogs, but did note that in training, the dogs were brought to a testing site to compare their results to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of subjects. Initial results at Heat games indicate 92% accuracy in comparing their proprietary technology to the PCR test. The Heat has adopted the dogs as part of screening attendees entering stadiums, and is not waiting for published data on the validity of such techniques. "The process has gone well so far—we line fans up at one gate for entrance to games," said a Heat spokesman. "While the fans are socially distant, the dogs sniff the hands of the fans checking for the detection of COVID-19. If COVID-19 is detected on a fan, we escort the fan and the members of his/her group out of the line and into a separate area where we offer information on how to get tested."

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