Mum reveals hilarious Aldi mask hack in viral TikTok video
A Victorian mum has used an unexpected Aldi product to develop her own hilarious yet practical face mask amid the state’s struggle to clamp down on community transmission of the novel coronavirus.
Emily Rumbold, a mum-of-seven from Melbourne, opted to repurpose an old wet wipe packet into a nifty mask, in line with the state’s recent mandating of face coverings for all residents in the city.
Adding an additional feature, she positioned the opening lid over her mouth, allowing convenient access for a well-deserved glass of wine.
In a hilariously smug video shared to TikTok this week, Ms Rumbold demonstrated her handiwork.
“Doing my bit to stop the spread #stayhome,” she wrote across the clip, which showed her popping open the lid to take a swig of wine.
Ms Rumbold told Yahoo News Australia she wanted to take part in a growing trend of people getting creative with masks across social media.
“Without trying to take away the seriousness of it all I just wanted to have a bit of fun with it. There’s been lots of mask videos going round and I thought I’d join in,” she said.
“I’m not sure if that one had been done before but with seven kids there’s always a pack of wipes laying around.”
It wasn’t long before the video went viral and earned the praise of thousands of social media users who expressed their admiration for her creativity in the comments.
Some hailed her a “genius” for the “best idea out there”, while others thought her invention would be in high demand given the current coronavirus situation in Victoria.
“This is the best invention ever no joke,” one person wrote, with another saying: “Honestly though I need my coffee so this is legit in demand”.
Ms Rumbold said she was shocked when views skyrocketed past 40,000 shortly after she posted it.
“I’m only a small account on TikTok so when I saw it hit 40k views really quickly I was surprised. Although that’s only small compared to most accounts,” she said.
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“Once I posted it on Facebook, that’s when it seemed to escalate.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Saturday once again reminded people about how important role face masks were playing in the fight against COVID-19, saying they were “essentially stage four”.
“If they are worn by everybody then we may not need to go further,” Mr Andrews told reporters.
“We cannot rule out going further with rule changes, but it is a big game changer, potentially,” he said of the mask mandate.
Mr Andrews said it had been reassuring to see most people complying with public health orders to wear a mask within Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.
“It is a significant step we can all take to potentially slow and limit the spread of this virus and then drive down case numbers,” he said.
“That is exactly what we want and the masks will be an important part of that.”
People found flouting the rules would face the wrath of Victoria Police, he added.
“Victoria Police are out there. They are very serious about their task. They are being supported by ADF, we are grateful for that,” he said.
“If you are doing the wrong thing, not only is that the wrong thing to do, it is also not particularly smart, because Victoria Police are out there and they know how serious this is and they will take action against you.”
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