Coronavirus Watch: Dogs being trained to sniff out COVID at airports

Dogs can be trained to identify the unique odors associated with coronavirus infection, researchers say.

A recent study found that one dog can screen up to 250 people in an hour, according to researchers with The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Medical Detection Dogs and Durham University. The next stage of research will involve screening infected people in real-world settings.

"Then we will work with other experienced partners to scale-up our operations rapidly to deploy COVID-19 detection dogs in airports or other venues to screen large numbers of people, providing a rapid non-invasive screening for COVID-19," the researchers said.

It's Monday and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's what you need to know today. 

• Origins of COVID-19: China has denied a report that three Wuhan Institute of Virology employees were hospitalized with possible coronavirus symptoms in November 2019, a claim that if true would further fuel debate over the origins of the pandemic.
• Heart inflammation in vaccinated youth: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reviewing a small number of cases of heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, in vaccinated young adults and teenagers. A group of experts has concluded that cases seem to occur more often in males than females, more often following the second dose, and typically within four days after vaccination.
• Florida to drop extra pandemic benefits June 26: Joining a growing list of Republican-led states, Florida is withdrawing from a federal program that gave an extra $300 per week in benefits to the unemployed during the pandemic. 
• New York City schools back full time: Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all the city's public schools will be back to full-time, in-person instruction in September. No remote option will be offered, the mayor said in an interview on MSNBC. 

Thank you for subscribing to the Coronavirus Watch. We appreicate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information.

— John Bacon, rewrite chief, @realjohnbacon