Elyse Knowles wears a snorkel mask in kitchen after COVID-19 drama

Elyse Knowles called the deadly COVID-19 pandemic a ‘gift’ to the planet on Wednesday. 

It didn’t take long for the online backlash that followed, with many branding the 27-year-old’s comments ‘idiotic’. 

And on Sunday, the model looked to be brushing off the drama as she cooked a meal for boyfriend Josh Barker at their Byron Bay home.   

In a hilarious clip shared to Josh’s Instagram, Elyse wore a snorkel mask to prevent her from crying while chopping onions.

She wore a white T-shirt and shorts combination, and swept her blonde locks into a messy topknot. 

Josh captioned the post: ‘Cutting onions,’ alongside two laughing face emojis. 

It comes days after Elyse was slammed for calling the deadly COVID-19 pandemic a ‘gift’ to the planet.  

Elyse’s comments came during an interview with A Conscious Collection on Wednesday for Earth Day.  

‘While the spread of coronavirus has been devastating in countless ways, if we look for a silver-lining we’ll find the gift it’s given our planet,’ she said. 

The Myer ambassador went on to list the benefits including cleaner air, ‘glistening’ beaches and rivers and wildlife enjoying ‘a safer home’ as people stay home to practise social distancing. 

‘Mother Nature has proven to us all that by minimising the collective human footprint, our world can take a breath and re-set,’ she continued. 

‘It’s ignited the fire in my belly to keep advocating for positive change! We have ONE world. We have to treat it with absolute care.’

It didn’t take long for the online backlash that followed, with many people branding Elyse’s comments as ‘idiotic’. 

‘People have lost their lives. This is no gift from the planet. It’s a tragic illness killing thousands. Idiotic comments,’ one person wrote. 

Meanwhile, another person wrote: ‘So from Brunswick to Byron and now you’re an expert? Yes things have changed but at what cost? Clearly the human cost means nothing to you.’   

But there were some people who agreed with Elyse and rushed to support the model by voicing their opinions online. 

‘Probably not the context but she’s right. Extremely sad and unfortunate that deaths are occurring but the facts speak for themselves globally with drops in pollution and consumption, higher air quality and clear water channels,’ one person wrote. 

‘Humans are the plague of the earth and in lock down the world is starting to slowly heal itself before we start destroying it again,’ another person agreed.

As of the evening of April 26, there are 6,711 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia, including 83 deaths.