A trial to see whether dogs can detect coronavirus is going "very well", according to the charity behind it.
Six dogs are being trained by Medical Detection Dogs in Milton Keynes.
Claire Guest, the charity's co-founder and chief executive, said the dogs were already showing signs that they would be able to sniff out the virus.
She has previously trained dogs to spot the scent of malaria, cancer and Parkinson's disease.
"The study is moving forwards very well and the signs are all really positive," said Dr Guest.
"At the moment, we are cutting up tiny strands of a tennis ball, and then touching the strands with a piece of paper and hiding the paper, and they are able to find it. They are incredibly skilled."
Norman, Digby, Storm, Star, Jasper and Asher will be trained to smell the virus on sterilised socks, stockings and face masks worn by NHS staff in London.
The team expects the 3,200 samples to start coming back next week. Scientists will work out whether they contain the virus and the dogs will be tasked with spotting the positive samples from the negative ones and alerting the trainers.