A scratch-and-sniff screening tool that identifies impaired sense of smell, a common symptom of COVID-19, could help quickly pinpoint cases.

Researchers from the University of Colorado in Boulder studied a smell test called U-Smell-It, which combines the use of a scratch-and-sniff card with different scents and an app where users input what they smelled.

The app then alerts users if it detects an impaired sense of smell, indicating the need for a standard COVID-19 test.

The U-Smell-It app team developed a mathematical model mirroring a college campus and found use of the smell test every three days identified more infections than using the standard polymerase chain reaction test once a week.

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