Cough on train sparks bitter argument amid coronavirus panic

A man and woman have been filmed having a bitter argument after getting caught in a disagreement about the woman's cough. Photo / Twitter

Two people have been filmed having a bitter argument on a Sydney train after a woman let out a cough without properly covering her face.

The man and woman, sitting opposite one another on a Sydney train, were filmed having a bitter dispute over the cough.

The man, who called the woman "disgusting", took off his sunglasses and said, "Can you cover your mouth when you cough please?"

The woman fired back, "I did not open my mouth when I coughed. I coughed inside my mouth."

"That's disgusting," the man responded.

"Yeah, well you're disgusting too," the woman said.

The woman then leans towards the man and appears to fire a mock cough in his direction.

"Are you serious? Did you just cough at me?"

"Yeah! I don't have a pandemic," the woman said, before calling the man a "bully".

A man and woman have been filmed having a bitter argument after getting caught in a disagreement about the woman's cough. Photo / Twitter

The pair then continue to bicker over whether or not the woman sufficiently covered her mouth while she coughed. The woman insisted she coughed "inside her mouth", prompting the man to ask her if she was "a doctor".

People commenting on the video were divided over who was in the wrong, with some calling both people "unhinged" and others saying it was all "downhill from here".

However, some sided with the man, saying they felt the woman clearly should have been covering her mouth.

"Horrible rude woman, I tell my students off for that, I let them know its wrong! And they are 10," one person wrote on Twitter.

"My two-year-old knows to cover her mouth and cough into her elbow," another said.

However, others suggested the man might be the one with the problem.

"That dude needs to lock himself inside if he's that worried," one person said.

The number of coronavirus cases in New Zealand continues to be five - with two more "probable" cases, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said on Monday.

Of the two probable cases, one was a woman aged in her 70s who had been on the Grand Princess cruise ship and was now in North Shore hospital for an "unrelated condition".

The second probable case is the father of the third person to be confirmed with coronavirus - the father recently returned from a trip to Iran.

Meanwhile, the only confirmed New Zealand coronavirus patient admitted to hospital is nearly ready to be discharged.

Bloomfield confirmed there have been no additional confirmed or probable cases in New Zealand over the weekend.

HOW EASILY COULD IT SPREAD IN NEW ZEALAND?

Some public health experts have expressed doubt that community transmission in New Zealand will be able to be halted.

But University of Auckland microbiologist Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles has stressed that the chances of New Zealand seeing a full outbreak like is happening in China is very low.

"That's because we don't have the same population density as China and are in a good position to be able to identify and isolate infected people and anyone they have had contact with to stop the infection spreading," she said.

Posters have been placed at Auckland Airport to urge people with symptoms to contact public health staff immediately. Photo / Supplied

WHAT ARE THE GENERAL MESSAGES FOR THE PUBLIC?

All travellers to New Zealand who become sick within a month of their arrival are being encouraged to seek medical advice and contact Healthline or a doctor and share their travel history.

As with all respiratory illnesses, people could take steps to reduce their risk of infection.

This includes regularly washing hands, covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze, staying home if you are sick and avoiding close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.