Parent of Shawnee Mission student has tested positive for coronavirus, district says
A parent of a student who attends an elementary school in the Shawnee Mission School District has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the superintendent said in a note to staff and parents on Saturday.
The person has a child who is a student at Lenexa Hills Elementary School. The family is currently in isolation, Superintendent Mike Fulton wrote, and will not be back in the school until the quarantine period has ended.
It was unclear Saturday afternoon if this is a new case of COVID-19 in Kansas or if the parent is connected to an existing case that was previously announced. Eight people have tested positive for the virus in Kansas as of Saturday, including five in Johnson County.
Anyone in the Lenexa Hills community who had direct contact with the family has been notified, per guidelines provided by the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, Fulton said in the letter.
“We have been informed that the risk of COVID-19 exposure to anyone at Lenexa Hills is very low,” Fulton’s letter said.
District buildings will be closed for spring break, which is March 16-20. The district stated schools will be cleaned and disinfected before students and staff return.
“Please be assured that our focus is on student, staff and community safety,” the letter stated. “This situation continues to be very fluid and, as things change, we will communicate as quickly as reasonably possible.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 5:34 PM.
