OKLAHOMA CITY – Starting immediately, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) is suspending visitation across all state-run facilities. This unfortunate, albeit necessary, action quells a potential source for viral infection and spread.

Early in the pandemic, ODOC suspended visitation as part of a comprehensive plan to keep inmates and staff insulated from the virus. Understanding the importance of inmates’ contact with family, the agency initiated a scaled-back visitation model this summer when infections decreased across the state. However, ODOC recently declared numerous facilities “h...