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Miami Heat to use COVID-19-sniffing dogs to screen fans at games

Photo: Markus Spiske @markusspiske
Photo: Markus Spiske @markusspiske

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat are bringing back some fans, with help from some dogs. The Heat will use coronavirus-sniffing dogs at American Airlines Arena to screen fans who are coming to their home games. They’ve been working on the plan for months, and the highly trained dogs have been in place for some games where the team has allowed a handful of guests, mostly friends and family of players and staff. Starting this week, a limited number of ticket holders will be in the seats as well. And they’ll have to get past the dogs before gaining admittance. If the dog sits while a fan is walking by, that’s a sign the dog detects the coronavirus and the fan will be denied entry. The idea already has been put into place at airports in the United Arab Emirates and Finland in recent months.