Madrid (Spain), 29/03/2020.- A handout photo made available by Spanish Government shows tv frame of Emergency and Alert Center Coordination chairman Fernando Simon during the press conference about coronavirus crisis after the Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting held at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 29 March 2020. Spain faces the 15th consecutive day of national lockdown in an effort to slow down the spread of the pandemic COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. | Spanish Government HANDOUT

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Spain's health emergency chief Fernando Simon, who leads the country's response to the coronavirus epidemic and maintains regular contact with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, has tested positive for the virus, health official Maria Jose Sierra said today.

Speaking at a daily news conference where she replaced Simon, Sierra said the trend in daily infections had changed since the introduction of lockdown measures, with new infections now rising at roughly 12% a day, compared with around 20% before March 25.