A photo shows two Italian nurses in a hospital a few days before they got COVID-19 and died.
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No, this isn’t a photo of Italian nurses kissing in a hospital
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- An AP photographer took this picture of a couple kissing at the Barcelona Airport in Spain in March.
The photo shows a man and woman, their lips almost touching, their eyes closed — and their medical masks below their chins.
Their names, according to a recent Facebook post, are Sofia and Antonio — two nurses in Italy who left their small children, Cara and Lia, in the care of grandparents so that they could spend "day and night working at the hospital" after the coronavirus outbreak. But they were both infected with COVID-19, the post claims, and "a few days later they both died holding each other's hand, looking after each other, caressing each other."
The post says the picture "was taken while they were working in hospital, few days before Antonio got infected, unaware that this might be their last kiss."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
We don’t know their names, but the photo was taken at the Barcelona Airport in Spain, not a hospital in Italy.
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"A couple kiss," reads the caption of the moment captured by Associated Press photographer Emilio Morenatti, "at the Barcelona Airport, Spain, Thursday (March 12). Airlines and travelers are still sorting out the new travel ban that President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday, barring most foreign visitors from continental Europe for 30 days."
Searching for news stories about Sofia and Antonio and nurses in Italy, we found none — just other posts sharing the same story that appears on Facebook.
Featured Fact-check
Dozens of doctors and nurses treating coronavirus patients have died in Italy.
But this Facebook post does not accurately describe the photo it features.
We rate it False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, March 26, 2020
Associated Press, Spain to declare state of emergency over coronavirus outbreak, March 13, 2020
Newsweek, Over 100 doctors and nurses have died combating coronavirus across the world, April 3, 2020
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No, this isn’t a photo of Italian nurses kissing in a hospital
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