Barrie nurse says daughter shunned by Midland neighbours over fear of COVID-19

Crystal Munshaw, a nurse at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie, says her six-year-old daughter Gaby has been shunned by other families in her Midland neighbourhood over fear of COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, Munshaw has been working in the COVID-19 unit at RVH. Word of her new role got out and, she said, her small neighbourhood turned against her family.

“The entire world is going by the motto ‘We are in this together,’ when really we are not,” said Munshaw. “We are living in a tiny community where it is you against your neighbour.”

On June 16, some children with whom Gaby had been riding her bike around the neighbourhood were invited to a play date at a neighbourhood home. Gaby was told she wasn’t welcome.

“He told her the other kids were afraid of her because she might have COVID-19 because her mommy is a COVID nurse,” said Munshaw. “She came home wailing and hid behind a tree.”

Munshaw posted to a community Facebook page to try to explain her situation, but it was no use and the other neighbourhood kids still avoided Gaby.

During the pandemic, Munshaw has been living in a trailer in the backyard separate from her daughter and parents. She hasn’t hugged Gaby in months.

“Yes, front-line workers are at a higher risk, but we have all of the personal protective equipment and then some,” said Munshaw. “You have more of a risk of getting COVID from the grocery store than you do from me.”

Being a nurse, she took it upon herself to educate Gaby very early on. She taught her to regularly wash her hands, use sanitizer, keep her distance and not touch her face.

“I know I have educated her,” said Munshaw. “But I know she is going to make mistakes. She is six.” 

She has since taken a leave of absence from RVH to be with her daughter, who took the rejection quite hard. 

“My mom told me that she was crying in her sleep … that she didn’t want to talk to anybody, go anywhere or do anything, said Munshaw. “These were her friends. She wants to play with them.”

Animosity in the neighbourhood continues to rise. According to Munshaw, her family has been subject to rude, sometimes threatening, behaviour. 

She also said neighbourhood kids have taunted Gaby, riding their bikes in front of their home and then scattering if she comes outside. 

“It has been a really tough month for us,” said Munshaw, who is worried about retaliation.

She has purchased a security system for her home and a dash camera for her daughter’s bike. 

The entire situation has opened her eyes to the stigma around COVID-19.

“The stigma is there. I know it is,” said Munshaw. “I can’t be the only one going through this with a child that is being segregated.”

Statistics Canada recently conducted a survey on fear of COVID-19-related stigmatization. Of the more than 4,000 people who participated, one in 10 said the fear was because they worked in a health-care facility.