Basil and Bob could represent the future of how Britain confronts coronavirus. At Paddington station in London the two labradors showed off their Covid-sniffing skills in front of the Duchess of Cornwall and the health secretary, Matt Hancock.
The animals, from the charity Medical Detection Dogs, have already demonstrated their ability to pick out positive samples of Covid in a controlled environment. They have now been through their paces in a busy real-life setting and the duchess said that they were “simply remarkable, so impressive”.
Basil and Bob passed the scientifically-monitored tests — which used five human volunteers, one wearing an item of clothing impregnated with the scent of Covid-19 — with flying colours on six separate occasions, much to the delight of the duchess