Spain’s health emergency chief Fernando Simon has tested positive for coronavirus, said health officials.

Simon, who leads Spain’s response to the pandemic and maintained regular contact with prime minister Pedro Sanchez, was replaced by health official Maria Jose Sierra at a daily news conference on Monday.

Sierra told reporters the rise in daily infections has slowed ever since the country introduced lockdown measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.

New infections were not rising at around 12 per cent per day compared to around 20 per cent before 25 March, she added.

Some 12,298 health workers have tested positive for coronavirus in Spain, equivalent to around 14 percent of the country’s 85,195 confirmed cases.

Sierra said now the main concern for the government was the pressure on the country’s intensive care units, as hospital workers struggle to cope with the surge of patients requiring life-saving treatment.

“Reducing the pressure on the ICUs will be important for considering de-escalation measures,” she said.

On Monday, the country faced even more restrictive measures as authorities banned all non-essential workers from leaving their homes for the next two weeks.

The measures come as 812 more deaths were recorded on Monday, a slight decrease from the record daily high of 838 deaths on Sunday. Spain’s death toll stands at 7,340.

The country’s new coronavirus figures Spain ahead of China and only behind the United States and Italy in the list of nations with greater contagion.