Social media users have reacted in awe after a Kiwi's "flex" showing off that he didn't need to wear a face mask, because he was from New Zealand.
Replying to a Reddit post asking why men don't wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kiwi commented: "Because I live in New Zealand."
While New Zealand has 24 active cases of coronavirus, Kiwis are neither required nor encouraged to wear face masks as there is no evidence of community transmission here.
The user's reply was upvoted thousands of times, with another user responding: "What a f***ing flex."
However the response to the New Zealander's smug comment wasn't all positive.
Another user responded in defence: "Bro, New Zealand has pandemic control on easy mode," adding that "you're a wealthy island and pretty much any basic response including that done by many US cities and states would have worked successfully there."
The use of face masks is not required in New Zealand, but the Ministry of Health suggests that this may change if we see evidence of community transmission in the future.
In a comment, one user explained they still do wear a mask when going out to the Auckland CBD: "Since I mostly bus, I'm in more of a confined space. Better safe than sorry."
Another replied: "Not just that, but people in quarantine keep escaping, going to the supermarket and areas of the public."
"The point is, people from overseas that just flew into Auckland are still out in public areas, so Kiwis should still mask up."
This comes after a man's COVID-19 test returned a positive result the next day, after he escaped quarantine to go to an Auckland supermarket on Tuesday night.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says that although New Zealand has no reported cases of community transmission, it could be a "real possibility" in the future.
