By Fernan Angeles
K-9 dogs are not just good at sniffing baggage in trying to find dopes. They are also capable of detecting presence of the highly-infectious COVID-19 virus from Wuhan, China.
In fact, the Antipolo City government in Rizal Province hinted at tapping and deploying their K-9 dogs “very soon.”
In her Facebook post, Antipolo City Mayor Andrea Bautista-Ynares said that their K-9 partners have already undergone a training program that would see them make use of their ability to sniff and detect presence of viruses deemed as infectious to human beings.
“Matapos po nilang sumailalim sa apat na buwang training, malapit na nating makatulong sa pag detect ng COVID-19 ang mga alaga nating aso sa lungsod,” said Ynares even as she claimed that such practice is already being done in the United States, the Middle East Asia and Europe.
“Ito ay ginagawa na ngayon sa ibang mga bansa tulad ng USA pati na din ang mga bansa sa Middle East at Europe,” she added.
Initially, the city chief executive hinted on deploying them at the city’s mega-testing facility found at the Events Center adjacent the Ynares Center at the provincial capitol complex. She said that these K-9 dogs would also be taken to city-based hospitals, public market and other crowded areas.
“Magtatalaga muna tayo ng mga trained K-9 dogs sa Mega Testing (swabbing) Facility sa Events Center (sa likod ng Ynares Center) bago sila idestino sa ibang mga matataong lugar tulad ng ospital, palengke, at iba pa,” reads the FB post.
According to the mayor, the K-9 dogs would help them screen individuals vying to undergo RT-PCR swab tests.
“Ang mga K-9 ay magsisilbing screening test bago tumuloy sa pagpapa Rapid Test o RT-PCR swab test ang ating mga kababayan matapos makuha ang kanilang pag payag,” Ynares quipped.
As of this posting, Antipolo City has already recorded 3,163 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of this number only 79 have remained active.