Dogs being trained to sniff out coronavirus at airports

Dogs are being trained to detect coronavirus in passengers arriving at UK airports.

Dogs at the Medical Detection Dogs charity have previously been used to find cancer and malaria.

The organisation's founder believes the animals could detect Covid-19 in asymptomatic travellers arriving when lockdown measures are relaxed with "flights coming in from other parts of the world".

Claire Guest told the BBC's Today programme:

The charity's website details the six dogs who are being taught to find Covid-19 with the help of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Durham University.> The group of three working cocker spaniels, a Labrador, a Labradoodle and a Labrador golden retriever cross could be trained in six to eight weeks, but £500,000 funding will be needed to complete the training.