Spanish cabinet receives coronavirus tests after minister tests positive

MADRID - The entire cabinet of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tested for the coronavirus on Thursday after the Minister for Equality Irene Montero tested positive for the virus.

The Prime Minister's office confirmed that "following the established protocols, this morning diagnostic tests will be carried out on all of the members of the Executive. The results will be known during the afternoon and communicated officially."

The cabinet meeting that scheduled for Thursday to allow the government to approve its "action plan" to combat COVID-19 will only be held in the presence of those ministers essential to approving the measures and all other meetings will be replaced by video-conferences, the government confirmed.

Montero is not the first Spanish politician to test positive for the coronavirus. The Deputy Speaker Ana Pastor was also infected with the virus along with several members of the right wing party Vox.

One worrying factor, however, is that Montero was present at the head of the International Women's Day march which was allowed to go ahead in Madrid and attracted thousands of people on March 8 despite fears over the spread of the coronavirus.

Shortly before midday on Thursday, 2,294 cases of the virus had been confirmed in Spain along with 56 fatalities.