SALT LAKE CITY Shayla Leeks two children won t open gifts until the phone rings on Christmas morning.
She wants their dad to hear the shouts and laughter in their Brigham City living room all the way from the Utah State Prison in Draper.
In any other year, Leeks family and many others would pile in their cars and travel to the prison to visit loved ones over the holidays. But like most other gatherings, the pandemic has called off quality time for inmates and their family members.
Families of inmates in the Utah State Prison have spent most of the year worrying for their loved ones health. Several are mourning after 11 who tested positive for COVID-19 later died, either at the prison or a hospital.
Toll roads, taxes, public safety changes in Cox transition team reports
Toll roads, taxes, public safety changes in Cox transition team reports
and last updated 2020-12-23 19:46:16-05
SALT LAKE CITY â In a series of reports, Governor-elect Spencer Cox s transition team recommends some significant changes to state agencies.
The reports, made public on Tuesday night, are a part of a review he ordered after being elected to office. The governor-elect s transition team, made up of volunteers, reviewed each agency and made a number of staffing and policy recommendations. Some suggest consolidating state divisions and departments, as first reported by FOX 13 earlier this month, while others expand government.
In any other year, families would pile in their cars and travel to the Utah State Prison to visit loved ones incarcerated there over the holidays. But like most other gatherings, the pandemic has called off quality time for inmates and their family members.
SALT LAKE CITY An 11th inmate at the Utah State Prison has died after testing positive for COVID-19, according to the Utah Department of Corrections.
The man, who was 86 years old, died in the infirmary at the prison s Draper site on Sunday, the Corrections Department said on its website. He is the oldest of the 11 deceased, with earlier deaths among those ranging in age from 48 to 82.
The prison said the man had been hospitalized prior to his death but did not provide further detail on the medical care he received.
A total of 964 inmates are considered to have active cases of COVID-19 amid outbreaks at the prison s Draper and Gunnison sites, according to numbers from Monday, the most recent available.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY An 11th inmate at the Utah State Prison has died after testing positive for COVID-19, according to the Utah Department of Corrections.
The man, who was 86 years old, died in the infirmary at the prison’s Draper site on Sunday, the Corrections Department said on its website. He is the oldest of the 11 deceased, with earlier deaths among those ranging in age from 48 to 82.
The prison said the man had been hospitalized prior to his death but did not provide further detail on the medical care he received.
A total of 964 inmates are considered to have active cases of COVID-19 amid outbreaks at the prison’s Draper and Gunnison sites, according to numbers from Monday, the most recent available.