due to the lack of free rooms and to the Centre’s overcrowding (there were 89 patients but the centre had only 60 places)424. Despite the impossibility to carry out a monitoring visit to the Centre, its situation is systematically monitored by the CHR, by prof. Adam Bodnar, by his deputy Hanna Machińska, Ph.D., and by Ms Ewa Dawidziuk, director of the Penalties Enforcement Department of the CHR Office. SITUATION DURING THE PANDEMIC It has been found that the pandemic resulted in additional restrictions being imposed on the patients, which undoubtedly contributed to lowering the moods in the Centre. Starting from 5 March 2020, the patients were not permitted to receive visits, including visits by couriers and other services delivering food and meals from outside the Centre. The staff and the personnel had their body temperature measured, and the staff had to use protective clothing and shoes. The Centre director managed to purchase coronavirus tests but they only detected the presence of antibodies in the patients. They did not make it possible to determine whether the tested patient or employee was infected at the testing time and posed a risk to other people. The CHR Office started to receive complaints about the restrictions. The patients pointed out, among others, that there was a lack of information on the ending dates of the restrictions (in particular on receiving visits). The Centre director did not agree to contacts via Skype, which could have compensated for the lack of patients’ direct meetings with their relatives. The patients also complained about the lack of direct contacts with the director and the possibility to freely report their requests and doubts concerning the decisions that impacted them. They did not understand many of the restrictions and prohibitions introduced, such as the prohibition to purchase food and order products from the outside or to use service providers other than Poczta Polska (the Polish Post)425. On 14 May 2020, an online meeting was held at the CHR Office to discuss the situation of the Gostynin Centre patients. The participating psychologists emphasised that the additional restrictions in places of detention are a particularly stressful factor and lead to emotional tension. The lack of group therapy activities in the Centre, that would contribute to reducing the level of frustration and, first of all, would allow to discuss the patients' problems and to react to them on a current basis, does not contribute 424 Reply of the Gostynin Centre Director of 7.12.2020 (ref.no. KOZZD/EP/1229/2020). 425 General intervention letter of Deputy CHR to the Gostynin Centre Director of 22.05.2020. (IX.517.1013.2020.ED). 152