Dubai is making sure they win the fight against COVID-19 with its new airport security addition. 

According to The National, a Dubai-based news outlet, Dubai International Airport now has coronavirus-sniffing dogs to test samples from tourists. 

Dubai reopened to tourism last month and requires travelers to provide a negative COVID-19 test result that was taken within 4 days of traveling. 

In addition to the test result, officials are now taking sweat samples from travelers and having dogs sniff them for traces of COVID-19. 

Dogs have a reputation for being able to sniff out drugs and bombs but they’re also able to smell diseases. Cynthia Otto, director of Penn Vet Working Dog Center said in an April study that “The potential impact of these dogs and their capacity to detect COVID-19 could be substantial.”

Dubai International Airport is the first example of dogs being utilised to sniff out COVID-19. The training process for dogs to detect the virus is rigorous and involves a lot of specialised equipment and research, so don’t try this at home. 

Sweat samples will be taken from travelers’ armpits and then they will be placed in steel containers so the dog’s snout can fit inside.

Dubai officials tell The National that test results can be produced in less than a minute and have an accuracy rate of 92 percent.