CoViD-19 and psychiatry: can mental illness justify further exceptions to the obligation to stay at home?

CONCLUSIONS: As the European and international provisions are hierarchically above the national provisions, the latter should be interpreted so that the non-compliance to the obligation to stay at home: a) does not constitute offence for a person tested positive to the virus, if therapeutic treatments resulting in hospitalization are deemed necessary; b) it does not constitute administrative offence if the subject proves, based on clinical and factual documented evidence, that leaving the house is necessary to avoid recrudescence of mental disorder. In addition, for evaluation purposes, particular attention should be paid to the severity of psychiatric illness in the specific case. In order to distinguish suitable subjects from those not suitable for home isolation, the reference criterion cannot be the only diagnostic element, but it will be necessary to take into account above all the severity of the condition. In the absence of such a qualitative assessment, there would be a risk of unfounded infringements of the obligation to stay at home. PMID: 32724238 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Rivista di Psichiatria - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Riv Psichiatr Source Type: research