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Catalan government advisor in Brussels Aleix Sarri has shared an email from the European Parliament which states the measures to be taken at the EU political hub with regard to employees or MEPs who arrive from countries with serious levels of coronavirus infection.

The list, circulated on Monday, naturally includes Spain. But isolation for 14 days is only advised for those who have come from or been in Madrid. No measures are mentioned for people who have passed through the rest of Spanish territory.

Sarri ends the tweet by reflecting ironically on the fact that only those who arrive from Madrid should self-isolate: "You can see that it's not the Spanish government who are using the virus in a political way."

Madrid is terribly severely affected by the coronavirus. As of Monday, the Madrid region (with 14% of Spain's population) accounted for 4,165 out of Spain's total of 9,892 known cases, as well as almost two thirds of the Spanish deaths so far (213 out of 340). No special action has been taken to attempt to isolate the capital. Since the weekend, the whole of Spain's territory has been under a lockdown order, yet it was still possible on Monday morning to observe crowded conditions on city commuter trains