this does not ensure the effective detection of a newly introduced, possibly infected, asymptomatic patient, and it is important that all patients undergo the said test when placed in a psychiatric institution. The mentioned algorithm also does not comply with the clinical practice recommendation,444 which instructs psychiatric institutions to introduce pre-triage445 and triage446 stages. At the "triage" stage, all patients should be referred to the facility's "filtration zone", where they will be tested for COVID-19 upon entry. To this end, it is important that two isolated patient rooms be set up in the facilities with individual bathrooms, where it will be possible to isolate the patient before the result of the COVID-19 test. This will significantly reduce the risk of spreading infectious disease in the facility and at the same time it will be necessary to isolate the patient only before receiving a test result. According to the letter received from the Ministry,447 From October 22, 2020, patients admitted to the hospital are tested for COVID-19. During the visits, it was found that despite the response received from the Ministry, there is a different approach in different psychiatric hospitals. For example, all patients admitted to Batumi Medical Center undergo PCR testing448 in contrast, in "Senaki Mental Health Center"449 patients are not tested. It is important that all psychiatric hospitals have the same approach and ensure that patients are tested during hospitalization, which will significantly reduce the risk of spreading the disease. Visits revealed that if a hospitalized patient had a fever, it was managed locally by a doctor-therapist, and testing for COVID-19 was performed only if the fever persisted again after completion of treatment. It is important that in the event of a pandemic, in the presence of a fever, the patient be isolated in a timely manner and tested. In addition to the above-mentioned, testing the staff of the facility is important. The letter received from the Ministry on November 12, 2020 states that “According to the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia N975 of July 15, the priority persons subject to mandatory testing for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection (COVID-19) are medical staff, including inpatients and ambulatory services. In case of confirmation of the virus in the institution on the basis of paragraph 12 of the ordinance N2025 of the Government of Georgia of October 21, 2020, the persons in contact are tested, which is welcomed by the Public Defender. "Mental Health and COVID-19"; see the link https://bit.ly/2JwFkjY [Last visited 31.12.2020]. The patients are initially evaluated at the pre-triage stage. If the survey reveals a "suspicious case of COVID-19", the patient is referred to a fever clinic and/or COVID-19 reception facility. The pre-triage stage is carried out before admission to the facility. 446If the patient does not show any suspicious symptoms during the pre-triage phase, s/he is transferred to the triage phase, which is performed in the filtration zone of the facility where the patient is being tested for COVID-19. If the patient is not confirmed with COVID-19, s/he leaves the filtration zone and is transferred to a psychiatric hospital/unit for further treatment or is released for home treatment. 447 Letter N01/1877 of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia of February 10, 2021. 448 Visit by the Department for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities on February 2, 2021. 449 Visit by the Department of Protection of Persons with Disabilities on February 5, 2021. 444 445 131