Read in Catalan

The president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, exhibited symptoms of coronavirus last night and for that reason isolated himself preventively in the Casa dels Canonges, the official residence of the head of the Catalan executive, in central Barcelona.  Today, shortly before 3pm, Torra made an official statement confirming that he had tested positive for the virus.

The institutional statement stated that the president and the rest of the Catalan government would remain "active, determined and decided in the fight against this very expansive disease." He once again called for the self-isolation of the population and warned that that not even "another minute" must be allowed to go by, calling on the Spanish government to respond to his request to extend the current lockdown centred on the city of Igualada to the whole of Catalonia, which is in a state of lockdown, but under the norms set down by the Spanish government, it is porous and incomplete, with transport systems filling at peak hours this Monday morning, and also still carrying people into and out of major focuses of the virus such as Madrid and Catalonia.

"The challenge for the country is enormous, and we need to show a more civic attitude, with more solidarity and generosity than ever," said president Torra. "For that reason I request that all of you self-isolate in solidarity with one another, and I ask the Spanish government to authorize the lockdown plan and measures which we have been sending them since Friday."    

"More than a thousand Catalans have already contracted the illness and in the next few days there will be many more of us," said the Catalan leader. He also explained in a tweet that, despite the isolation, he is "continuing to work by telematic means".

Translation:
"Despite the self-isolation confinement, I am still working to stop the spread of #Coronavirus, which is the #1 priority of the Catalan @government. This morning I had an online meeting with representatives of all parliamentary groups to keep them informed of the situation" - Quim Torra i Pla