Johnson County health officials reported 95 norovirus cases in Overland Park schools at Bentwood Elementary School after illness spread through students and staff over the past week. The school, part of The Olathe School District, sits in Overland Park and was placed under added health monitoring as families received a notice on Monday, Oct. 19.
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment said two cases were confirmed by lab testing, while the rest were treated as epidemiologically linked. That count came after absences tied to similar symptoms first appeared on Thursday, Oct. 8, and then increased enough on Monday, Oct. 12 to reach the 10% threshold that triggers contact with JCDHE.
Bentwood Elementary School in Overland Park
The district said students were not in attendance on Friday, Oct. 9 because of a professional development day, giving staff room to carry out a weekend deep cleaning. After absences rose again on Monday, Oct. 12, JCDHE began its process to determine whether the illnesses met the standard for an outbreak.
During that period, the district said its custodial team kept up regular cleaning while also doing additional daily deep cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces and high-traffic areas. The building received another deep cleaning over the break that followed, and school leaders said sanitation was added again over the weekend before the Monday notice went out.
JCDHE and the district
JCDHE declared a norovirus outbreak at Bentwood Elementary School, citing 82 other individuals who experienced similar symptoms from Oct. 8-14. The district said two individuals with symptoms tested positive for norovirus during the week after Oct. 12, which helped separate the lab-tested cases from the broader cluster of sick students and staff.
As of Monday, Oct. 19, one individual was absent with similar symptoms, and school leaders said absence rates that were high early last week had since declined significantly. JCDHE said it will continue to monitor the situation and provide guidance as needed, leaving families to follow the sanitation and illness precautions already in place at the school.
