Hospitals and psychiatric institutions A monitoring visit by Commission 1 to the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Hall Regional Hospital indicated that the minors were well informed about the risks of spreading the virus and precautionary measures. In addition, they were still allowed to go outside. However, Commission 1 observed on this visit to the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Hall Regional Hospital that newly admitted patients who were not suspected of being ill were isolated until a negative PCR test could be presented. This took up to 30 hours. This is not proportionate for minors with mental issues. Isolation measures at Hall Regional Hospital Restrictions of freedom against the will of those affected are only permissible under Austrian constitutional law in the exceptions mentioned in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights) and the Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals (Staatsgrundgesetz) for the protection of personal freedom, and then only based on statutory authorisation. The management of hospitals is not authorised to impose preventive regulations that restrict freedom. There is no statutory basis for the isolation of patients without medically verified suspicion of disease to be found in the relevant regulations in the Hospitalisation Act, the Epidemics Act and at most the COVID-19 Preventive Measures Regulation. Quarantine imposed by way of notification by health authorities could not be deduced from the documents viewed by Commission 1. There were also no reports to the patient advocacy of this type of isolation as a measure that restricts freedom. No legal basis Furthermore, the commission took a critical view of the existing telephone times during visiting bans and restricted visiting hours. Patients were only allowed to use their mobile phones between 11.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m. as well as between 5.45 p.m. and 6.45 p.m. During the first lockdown, few visits were possible. In spite of complaints, the telephone times were not extended. Insufficient outside contacts during From the point of view of the NPM, telephone times for minor patients should be extended especially when visiting had to be limited due to the pandemic, in order to ensure that contact to trusted persons remains intact. The NPM took a critical look at the IT equipment on a monitoring visit to the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry in Childhood and Adolescence at Clinic Klagenfurt. The availability of electronic devices and internet access were inadequate, which is why it was not possible for the patients to have video contact with their relatives. It was not even possible to hold proceedings under the Hospitalisation Act per video conference in a timely manner. IT equipment inadequate Court cases on involuntary hospitalisation were expressly exempted by the legislators from the waiver of legal proceedings deadlines (Section 1 (1) First judiciary law accompanying the COVID-19 Law (1. COVID-19-JustizbegleitGesetz) (see Barth, COVID-19 und die Folgen für familienrechtliche 50