Furious soccer coach claims he was fined $500 for pulling his mask down for a few seconds at a post office to talk to the store worker
A furious Sydneysider has hit out at the city's Covid-19 rules after he was fined $500 for pulling down his mask for 'two seconds' so he could speak to a shop worker.
TikTok personality @OlanTekkers, who runs soccer coaching clinics, shared his frustration online on Tuesday after police caught him briefly pulling his mask down in a post office.
'I've taken down my mask for about two seconds to talk to the guy as he couldn't hear me and then put I put it straight back on,' he claimed.
'I came out of the shop and there's two police officers going "did you take off your mask? I've been recording you the whole time".'
@olantekkers And this is how you ruin someone’s day during a pandemic
♬ original sound - Olantekkers
And this is how you ruin someone’s day during a pandemic
♬ original sound - OlantekkersAnd this is how you ruin someone’s day during a pandemic
'Bro - they fined me $500 for sliding down my mask for two seconds - I'm livid'.
Face coverings are mandatory in all public indoor spaces in the city including shops, workplaces and public transport.
His rant drew mixed reaction on social media - with some users saying he was naïve to take his mask off even for a few seconds indoors in Sydney.
'I mean pretty easy to keep a mask on and talk while it's on,' one user said.
'You broke the rules. It doesn't matter that it was only for two seconds,' another wrote.
Furious TikTok personality @OlanTekkers hit out at the city's Covid-19 rules after he was fined $500 for pulling down his mask for 'two seconds' so he could speak to a shop worker
But others sided with the Sydneysider - with one user describing the pedantic application of the face covering rules as a 'joke'.
'Sorry on behalf of the whole of Australia,' one wrote. 'What a joke.'
'NSW is the nanny state of the world... your experience confirms this,' another said.
'It's terrifying how many people think the fine was reasonable,' wrote another.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Police for comment.
His rant drew mixed reaction on social media - with some users saying he was naive to take his mask off even for a few seconds indoors in Sydney, while others described the pedantic application of the city's face covering rules as a 'joke'
The NSW government increased the fine for failing to wear a face mask from $200 to $500 last month as the state grapples with a surging outbreak of the Delta variant.
On Saturday, officials then increased the spot penalty for a breach of quarantine to $5,000 from $1,000, along with a $5,000 on the spot fine for lying about a permit or to a contact tracer.
There is also now a $3,000 on the spot fine for breaching the two person exercise rule in any way and those going into regional NSW without a valid reason will be slapped with a $3,000 on the spot fine.
The 10km exercise and shopping limit has also been decreased to 5km across Greater Sydney.