A man has been arrested after posting a video coughing and sneezing at fellow shoppers at a Christchurch supermarket.

In the video, posted to Facebook, the man smiles as he coughs and sneezes on shoppers at Fresh Choice supermarket in Barrington.

He then turns the camera on the shoppers as he apologises. He has since deleted the video.

A police spokesman confirmed on Sunday a 38-year-old man was arrested on Saturday evening.

"The man has been charged with endangering life by criminal nuisance and obstruction of a medical officer of health."

He is due to appear at the Christchurch District Court on Monday.

A police spokesman earlier called the behaviour "abhorrent", even without a pandemic.

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"[It] is quite frankly dangerous in the current environment."

The man in the video is seen wearing a Graham Hill Roofing jacket. However, in a post on the company's Facebook page, he never worked directly for them.

"This person was an employee of a temping agency. We are working with the police to get our clothing back and will assist them with any information they require in this matter," the posts said.