Boy cautioned after coughing on NSW couple

A teenage boy has been cautioned after he coughed at an elderly Port Stephens couple out on a walk.

A 73-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman were approaching a pedestrian crossing on Victoria Parade in Nelson Bay about 2pm on Easter Sunday when a car pulled up.

A young man leaned his head and shoulders out of the window before coughing at the couple, NSW Police said in a statement on Friday.

He and the other occupants in the vehicle started laughing before the vehicle drove off.

The couple contacted police and following investigations, a 16-year-old boy attended Ryde police station.

He will be issued a caution while the two other occupants of the car have been issued warnings, police said.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller earlier in the week called the offenders "hoons" and said the couple was left greatly concerned by the incident.

It is an offence to cough or sneeze on someone under new regulations tackling the spread of the coronavirus.

In March, two men were charged after allegedly coughing on police officers and claiming they had the coronavirus in separate incidents.