about the taste, quality and quantity of food. Further, the menu at the institutions does not include fruit or only in small quantities. Given the vital importance of adequate nutrition, the Public Defender considers that a uniform standard should be developed to ensure a healthy and varied nutrition for patients, taking into account their age, health status and cultural / religious characteristics. 4.8. Epidemiological conditions The monitoring revealed that certain measures were taken to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in the institutions. First of all, it should be noted that meeting of patients and visitors was prohibited. It is important that if patient visits are allowed, the patient and the visitor are equipped with personal protective equipment and keep a distance.440 The Center for Drug Prevention and Mental Health Ltd. has defined the rules for disinfection of items brought in from the outside and a meeting room for doctors and family members/supporters was allocated.441 In the opinion of the Public Defender, the sanitary-hygienic condition of the institutions, overcrowding, inability to maintain distance and incomplete use of personal protective equipment by the personnel increase the risk of spreading the infection. It is noteworthy that the minimum rules of safety were ignored in Tbilisi Mental Health Center Ltd. Entrants were not subjected to thermo-screening and most staff were not wearing face masks. It should be noted that at the time of the visit of the special preventive group (September 15-16, 2020) the staff of the institution was not being tested for COVID-19. As for the hospitalization of the patient, the patients were being thermo-screened and an epidemiological history was collected. Interviews with medical staff revealed that if a patient did not have a fever during admission, they would be hospitalized. If the patient had a fever, they would be taken to a fever center.442 According to the written response received from the Ministry regarding the COVID-19 testing prior to the placement in the patient unit, "Laboratory Diagnosis Algorithm for Infection (COVID-19) caused by the new coronavirus (SARS-COV-2)" approved by the order #1-144/O of the Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia on April 1, 2020 provides methods and conditions for laboratory testing in inpatient psychiatric facilities.443 With the above algorithm, inpatient testing is provided only in case of symptoms. In the opinion of the Public Defender, Members of a special preventive group saw a visitor at the Tbilisi Mental Health Center who had arrived to meet with the patient. Neither the patient nor the visitor was wearing a face mask during the meeting. 441 Letter OL-5047/Sh-1282//-4/20 of 14 April 2020 from the General Director of the Mental Health and Drug-addiction Prevention Center. 442 During a visit to the Tbilisi Mental Health Center, it was established that if the patient's fever would be discovered by the doctor on duty at the facility and not by the ambulance doctor, the ambulance brigade that brought the patient to the facility would refuse to transfer the patient to the fever center. The reason for this was named the lack of places in the fever center and because of this the facility had to transport the patients on its own. In case the patient was diagnosed with fever by the ambulance brigade, they would be taken to the fever center and placed in the inpatient unit after the COVID-19 test result was negative. 443 Letter №01/8992 of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of August 3, 2020. 440 130