Johannesburg – There has been no update on former president Nelson Mandela as he spent his third night in hospital to receive treatment for a recurring lung infection, the presidency said on Saturday.
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said there was no update when called at 10.20am and said a statement would be released later in the day.
On Friday, Maharaj said Mandela was in “good spirits” and enjoyed a full breakfast.
“The doctors report that he is making steady progress,” Maharaj said in a statement on Friday.
Maharaj said Mandela remained under treatment and observation after he was taken to an undisclosed hospital just before midnight on Wednesday.
On Thursday, President Jacob Zuma told BBC news that people needed to “slow down the anxiety”.
“In Zulu, when someone passes away who is very old, people say he or she has gone home. I think those are some of the things we should be thinking about,” the news service quoted him as saying.
Earlier this month, Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital for a scheduled check-up relating to a long-standing abdominal complaint. He was discharged the following day.
In February, he was admitted to hospital with a stomach ailment.
Last December, Mandela spent 18 days in hospital during which he underwent an operation to remove gallstones and received treatment for his recurring lung infection.
South Africa’s first black president has a long history of lung problems, dating back to the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. While in jail he contracted tuberculosis. – Sapa
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