A man wearing a face mask to combat the spread of coronavirus, cuts Iberian ham in a food store in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 7, 2020. (Photo: AP)

The health chief for the Madrid region has quit, a day after the region’s Cabinet voted unanimously to try and accelerate the end of its coronavirus lockdown.

Yolanda Fuentes, a doctor, tendered her resignation Thursday, private Spanish news agency Europa Press and other national media reported.

The Madrid region has Spain’s highest number of coronavirus cases, with 63,870 out of more than 221,000 nationally.

Spain is slowly rolling back its restrictions on movement, but Madrid’s move to ask the central government to be included in the next phase of the rollback surprised many.

The spread of the coronavirus in the Madrid area has slowed considerably, with an increase of just 86 cases from Wednesday.

The central government has said a decision will be made in coming days.