The NBA has made strides to ensure player and staff safety during the pandemic, and now they’re exploring a new method: using dogs to detect COVID-19 in fans before they enter the arena. The Miami Heat are leading the way, becoming the first team to implement these “coronavirus detection dogs” for screening attendees and employees.
With large gatherings, especially indoors, posing a significant risk of becoming super-spreader events, the need for effective testing methods is crucial. While scalable testing options for sizable crowds have been limited, emerging studies suggest that dogs might play a role in detecting the virus.
Although the scientific evidence isn’t yet conclusive, Matthew Jafarian, Miami Heat’s executive vice president for business strategy, noted that research drawn from studies in Germany, France, and Lebanon merits further investigation. “During the NBA bubble, we earnestly began looking into ways to safely bring fans back into the arena,” Jafarian explained. “We considered various testing options, including Breathalyzer tests and traditional rapid antigen and PCR tests, and how to implement these for thousands of attendees.”
So, they turned to COVID-sniffing dogs. While an alternative could be to simply not allow fans into the stadium—since basketball games aren’t essential during a pandemic—let’s focus on the pups.
A study from Germany published in the medical journal BMC Infectious Diseases found that after just five days of training, dogs could accurately identify the virus in the saliva of 1,000 people—both healthy and infected—with a 94 percent accuracy rate. Given that dogs have a history of detecting drugs and explosives, it stands to reason they could also be trained for COVID detection.
At the Miami arena, fans will wait in a designated screening area, maintaining a six-foot distance. If a dog sits next to an individual, it indicates a possible virus detection, and that person won’t be allowed into the event. Thankfully, they will receive a full refund on their ticket.
While initial results are promising, larger-scale studies and peer reviews are necessary to validate the effectiveness of this method. Alongside testing with dogs, the NBA continues to implement other safety protocols, including health screenings, mandatory mask policies, social distancing measures, limiting arena capacity, and cashless concessions.
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In summary, the NBA’s initiative to use COVID-sniffing dogs is a novel approach to enhance safety at games. While promising studies support the concept, further research is essential to confirm their efficacy in large settings. The combination of canine detection and ongoing safety protocols reflects the league’s commitment to creating a secure environment for fans and players alike.
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