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An image of a former Sri Lankan parliamentarian in hospital was shared repeatedly in May 2021 in Facebook posts that claim the ex-MP was being treated for Covid-19. But the photo has been shared in a misleading context: the image has actually circulated online since 2020. The former MP told AFP the image shows him receiving hospital treatment last year for an illness that was unrelated to Covid-19.
The photo of former opposition MP Sunil Handunneththi was shared on Facebook here on May 19, 2021, as Sri Lanka battled a new wave of Covid-19 infections.
He was formerly an MP for Sri Lanka’s People’s Liberation Front party, known locally as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party.