Spain set aside has 9 billion euros ($10.2 billion) to help fund regional governments' healthcare response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The central government will transfer 6 billion euros in September and a further 3 billion in November, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised statement Sunday. 

The measure will be approved by the cabinet through a decree on June 16, Sanchez said.

Sanchez announced at the beginning of May the creation of a 16 billion-euro reconstruction fund to help regional administrations face the economic consequences of the pandemic. 

The regions had already urged Sanchez to clarify the criteria to allocate the funds.

The 9 billion euros on healthcare spending was reduced from an original plan of devoting 10 billion euros. 

Meanwhile Bloomberg reported that, the Spanish government revised its plan to add as much as 2 billion euros in spending for education, by scrapping another 1 billion for social spending. 

The government has decided to set aside funds for the education system, changing its original plan to allocate 1 billion for the social spending and decreasing by another billion the amount initially allocated to the health care system.

(With input from agencies)