In Person Visits will begin again on Aug 15, 2020-CANCELLED

aalbright17 · #1 06-22-2020, 07:41 PM

I was made aware that in-person visits will begin again on August 15th. Does anyone have any information about what they will look like (ie. restrictions, requirements)? The letter that was given to inmates doesn't specify.

Girl22472 · #2 06-22-2020, 07:56 PM

I just did an extensive search and didn't find anything but it looks like you should keep an eye on the PDOC's website concerning that. I did find a graph talking about their reopening up after COVID but when it came to visitation it was non specific

**maytayah** · #3 06-23-2020, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aalbright17

I was made aware that in-person visits will begin again on August 15th. Does anyone have any information about what they will look like (ie. restrictions, requirements)? The letter that was given to inmates doesn't specify.

Hi there how did you find out as I have done a search and I was unable to find anything. Is there is any information on line I am sure it will help members.

aalbright17 · #4 06-23-2020, 08:30 PM

My fiancé is at SCI Dallas and was given a paper from Wetzel saying this. A friend of mine’s husband is at Quehanna and was given the same paper. I did research and found nothing online to date.

Girl22472 · #5 06-23-2020, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aalbright17

My fiancé is at SCI Dallas and was given a paper from Wetzel saying this. A friend of mine’s husband is at Quehanna and was given the same paper. I did research and found nothing online to date.

That is odd that they did that but nothing was on the PDOC site. I would still keep an eye on that though. That's probably going to be your best resources. That and the facility specific websites should be the first updated to give information because they surely don't want people showing up not knowing if or what restrictions there are.

aalbright17 · #6 06-25-2020, 08:01 PM

I received a letter from my fiance and he included the letter from Wetzel and it definately mentions August 15th. We should be hearing something soon, I would think, regarding restrictions and requirements and how everything will be done. The paper he got is legitamate though.

Girl22472 · #7 06-25-2020, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aalbright17

I received a letter from my fiance and he included the letter from Wetzel and it definately mentions August 15th. We should be hearing something soon, I would think, regarding restrictions and requirements and how everything will be done. The paper he got is legitamate though.

Does the letter say the entire PDOC or that facility specifically?

aalbright17 · #8 06-30-2020, 03:11 PM

Entire PA DOC. As I stated earlier, an inmate at Quehanna received the same correspondance.

**bobble60** · #9 07-05-2020, 06:42 AM

A memo from Secretary Wetzel to all inmates was issued on June 18th.
1. One June 30th, the DOC will end the free cable TV and free email vouchers.
2. The (5) free phone calls will continue until July 15.
3. The commissary limit will remain at $100 and 12 letters per month.
4. Virtual visiting will continue until further notice (we hope forever). In-person visits will resume, hopefully starting August 15, when three criteria are met:
a) The entire state is in the Green Phase of reopening;
b) The SCI has reached Level-1 of the DOC plan; and
c) A formal scheduling system is in place.

smiles844 · #10 07-13-2020, 09:39 AM

That is helpful and good to know, although at the rate at which COVID-19 is spiking (again) I kind of doubt they will open for visits on 8/15/20. Not to rain on anyone's parade... Fingers crossed though because I CAN NOT wait to visit in person!!!

aalbright17 · #11 07-13-2020, 12:32 PM

Yeah I feel the same way at this point. I am trying to not get my hopes, or his hopes, up about the August 15th date. There isnt much to look forward to with this whole prison situation, but visits are what get us through. I am ready for it to go back to normal.

aalbright17 · #12 07-14-2020, 05:45 PM

My fiancé was advised today that SCI Dallas will be opening for in person visits on August 15 with a lot of restrictions. Guests, inmates and employees will all be required to wear a mask. Visits will only be held for one hour increments (which sucks for someone like me who will drive two and a half hours to get there), there will be plexi glass booths set up with plexiglass dividing both us and the inmates and us from other visitors, and there will be no touching at all.

This is information that was told to him and other inmates by employees at SCI Dallas.

Nomes · #13 01-25-2021, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobble60

A memo from Secretary Wetzel to all inmates was issued on June 18th.
1. One June 30th, the DOC will end the free cable TV and free email vouchers.
2. The (5) free phone calls will continue until July 15.
3. The commissary limit will remain at $100 and 12 letters per month.
4. Virtual visiting will continue until further notice (we hope forever). In-person visits will resume, hopefully starting August 15, when three criteria are met:
a) The entire state is in the Green Phase of reopening;
b) The SCI has reached Level-1 of the DOC plan; and
c) A formal scheduling system is in place.

As per my phone call with hubs about 13 hours ago, PA now has the English strain of Covid so I doubt that the whole of PA will be in the green phase for a while to come yet, alas.

I find it amazing that the only way inmates are able to have caught the virus, is by outside intervention, so staff predominantly, as there's been no contact visits since March 2020, yet on visits, we still see staff going around without masks being worn or worn below their chins.....and yet if they reinstate contact visits for loved ones, we HAVE to wear masks, no contact etc...am I alone with my one eyebrow raised at that?

aalbright17 · #14 01-29-2021, 04:49 PM

This was an old post from last year.

**bobble60** · #15 01-31-2021, 08:23 AM

Nomes,

You are correct that the only people going in and out of the facility each day are staff. New admissions are quarantined for fourteen days, so the prisoners themselves constitute a statewide bubble.

The only solution would be to quarantine the staff at each facility, which is simply not practical (and would likely violate union rules.) Meanwhile, by prohibiting visits, outside volunteers and even contractors, they DOC has reduced the number of people going in and out.

I agree that mask-wearing seems to mirror what we see in public, which leads me to believe that prison staff wear masks on the job must the way they wear them anywhere else, i.e., less than 100%. As a nation, we simply aren't doing this right and the prison staff is no different.

BTW, the concern goes both ways: an asymptomatic prisoner on a visit could transmit the virus to visitors.

Visiting is not a right; it's a privilege. As long as the DOC provides alternatives, we have to accept this for the duration.

aalbright17 · #16 02-26-2021, 08:30 PM

Has there been any talk about when in-person visits MAY begin again? I know other states, like Ohio, have opened back up. I know its only a matter of time. Crazy to think its been one whole year since seeing our loved ones in person.

**bobble60** · #17 02-28-2021, 07:57 AM

It's also "crazy" that we've lost more than half-a-million Americans to a virus in that same time and that 107 prisoners are among them.

Under the Demobilization Plan, in-person visiting will resume when a facility is down to Level-1. You'll know when this happens by looking at some of the obvious metrics, like the end of cohorts, all inmates back to their institutional jobs, and normal activities. Certainly, once they can start vaccinating the entire staff and the prisoners, things will improve. The DOC has rolled out new policies for people entering the facilities to improve "entry-point" measures.