We performed a retrospective analysis of the use of coersive measures in a large psychiatric hospital association in Northrhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. We found an overall decrease in case numbers, but increases of cases with involuntary hospitalisation according to the Mental Health by 5% and cases with seclusion by 20%. Rates (relative numbers) increased from 12% for restraint and 22% for involuntary hospitalisation to almost 40% for seclusion. These trends may reflect poorer mental health of the general population and/or deficits in outpatient mental health care during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they may also reflect changes in inpatient mental health care including the impact of the need to inforce hygiene measures in acute psychiatric wards. Understanding the reasons for these trends may help us organize inpatient mental healthcare services in such a way that the quality of care returns to the pre-pandemic level.