COVID-19: The UAE Ministry of Interior successfully used K9 police dogs

In an initiative to enhance the Emirates’ preventive and precautionary measures and efforts aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has successfully completed trials on K9 police dogs.

This initiative is revealed to the public after the successful completion of practical experiments and scientific studies. It also shores up the state’s leading and proactive endeavors, proving that the UAE has always been at the forefront of adopting the best practices in all fields.

“Experiments done in the UAE have relied on high-speed sampling from the armpits of presumed cases. Samples are then sniffed out by the dogs without coming in contact with the persons, while results become known on the spot. K9 police dogs are also used traditionally in securing and monitoring events and sensitive facilities,” the MoI said in a statement.

Field experiments were done in cooperation with several departments like:

• The UAE police general commanders
• The Ministry of Health and Community Development
• Federal Customs Authority
• Departments of Customs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
• Abu Dhabi and Dubai Health Authorities
• The Ministry of Interior

“It is recorded that the UAE has completed the stage of field experimentation with precedence over a number of countries that are still in advanced stages of studying the extent of the applicability of this innovative scientific practice,” MOI added.

Experiments were conducted at field hospitals on volunteers in a number of areas in the UAE. It was done after taking the necessary precautionary measures to protect both K9 police dogs and their trainers.

The MOI and its partners decided to use dogs given their previous proven capability in dealing with other contagious diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria, thus helping authorities to stop the spread of pandemics. The Ministry also held a number of brainstorming workshops and cooperated with several countries and world experts on theoretical studies and discussions on using dogs in detecting presumed Covid-19 cases.

The said experiments were based on two methods:

• First: This is a direct method that involves the dog’s routine detection work.
• Second: This is an indirect method that is carried out when the dog sniffs out a sample odor of the presumed case.

“Figures indicate that dogs can quickly detect infected cases, help protect key sites, effectively deal with huge crowds and secure large events, airports, etc,” the ministry noted.

The MOI concluded, “Trained detection dogs are known for their extraordinary capabilities and skills that outdo other dogs, especially their strong sense of smell. For this reason, they can be used in police patrols and securing malls, events, airports, and other vital facilities.”