Previous Story
CPA looking into trained dogs to sniff out COVID-19
The Commonwealth Ports Authority is examining the possible use dogs that are trained specifically to sniff out COVID-19 in passengers, as an added layer to keeping the community safe from COVID-19 infections.
According to CPA board chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds, CPA and the CNMI administration continues to look for ways to fight the spread of the virus within the community amid the realization that the CNMI, along with the rest of the world, is still a long way away from getting rid of COVID-19. With that in mind, the idea of posting COVID-19 sniffing dogs at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport was discussed.
Kimberlyn King-Hinds
“Gov. Ralph DLG Torres recognizes that COVID-19 is not going to go away and that we need to continue to find a way to make sure that our community is safe, especially with the new variants like delta and lambda,” she said.
Essentially, the use of K-9s is just another layer of security against COVID-19 entering the CNMI’s borders.
“As part of the governor’s request to continue to look for ways to stay vigilant in keeping our community safe from COVID-19, CPA is exploring the feasibility of acquiring COVID-sniffing dogs as an added layer of detection for our borders,” she said.
However, as exciting as it may be, the idea is still in its preliminary stages and needs continuous research before CPA can take the necessary steps to carry it out. “This is all very preliminary. Due diligence and more research need to be done to see what the science says about it. We also need to see what other jurisdictions are doing and see if this is a worthy investment for the CNMI,” she said.
The idea was brought up during the CPA board’s recent meeting, according to the CPA chair.
Some CPA staff members have already been tasked to research and look into the experiences of other jurisdictions using COVID-19-sniffing dogs as part of border security measures. CPA wants to know how it can acquire the dogs and how to train their handlers.
