UPDATE, 1/6/22, 9:11 a.m.: The La. Office of Juvenile Justice announced this morning that it has also suspended in-person visitation at juvenile facilities statewide.

Due to the current surge in positive COVID-19 cases in Louisiana, OJJ said will begin limiting the number of visitors, contractors and deliveries on secure care campuses until further notice. Video visitation will continue for families, though in-person visitation has been halted.

OJJ said will be examining data and guidance from state and national public health officials to determine when it will be appropriate for visitation to resume.

ORIGINAL POST: BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY)– The Louisiana Department of Correction (DOC) announced Wednesday that, effective January 6, 2022 , it was suspending all in-person visitation at Louisiana’s eight state-run prisons.

“Out of an abundance of caution and in an effort to maintain health and safety concerning the latest surge of COVID-19 positive cases in Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has suspended prisoner visitation indefinitely effective January 6, 2022.”

The announcement comes a week after the Department suspended volunteers from entering the prisons due to the rise in COVID-19 cases across the state.

In lieu of in person visitation, the DOC says it will continue to offer two free phone calls per week to ensure inmates have continued connection to family and friends.

In addition, they said, video calling remains available for a fee.

Approximately 83 percent of prisoners incarcerated in Louisiana’s state-run prisons have been voluntarily vaccinated, and the Department continues to make vaccinations and booster shots available to all inmates.