After over a year of separation, friends and family members of incarcerated people will finally get to see their loved ones again this summer.
The Utah Department of Corrections announced Friday that in-person visits and volunteer and religious services will resume at Utah state prisons early in June. Social distancing, face masks and temperature checks will be required of visitors.
Visits were halted in March 2020 because of the pandemic. Since then, incarcerated people have had to rely on phone calls to contact their loved ones.
The news that visits are restarting comes a day after UDOC announced that all prisoners have been offered at least one COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID among incarcerated people has been a big concern during the pandemic since it is difficult to social distance in jails and prisons. There have been 3,891 cases in Utah jails and prisons, which led to 97 hospitalizations and 18 deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.
