"Do as I say, but not as I do" was the message many British saw in the behaviour of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's key aide, who travelled hundreds of miles with coronavirus symptoms during the country's lockdown.
Few countries seem immune to the perception that politicians and top officials are bending the rules that their own governments wrote during the pandemic.
From US President Donald Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, global decision-makers have frequently set bad examples, whether it's refusing to wear masks or breaking confinement rules aimed at protecting their citizens from COVID-19.
Some are punished when they're caught, others publicly repent, while a few just shrug off the violations during a pandemic that has claimed more than 350,000 lives worldwide.
Here are some notable examples.
In April, New Zealand's health minister was stripped of some of his responsibilities after defying the country's strict lockdown measures. David Clark drove 19 kilometers (12 miles) to the beach to take a walk with his family as the government was asking people to make historic sacrifices by staying at home.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said it pained him not to embrace supporters during tours because of health risks, but he made a remarkable exception in March, shaking hands with the elderly mother of imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán.
Asked about shaking her hand when the government was urging citizens to practice social distancing, López Obrador said it would have been disrespectful not to.
"It's very difficult humanly," he said. "I'm not a robot." The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement in the U.S. It's been stoked by Trump - who didn't wear a mask during an appearance at a facility making them - and some other Republicans, who have questioned the value of masks.
