South Africa's president said former President Nelson Mandela has recovered from his recent lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones.
Mac Maharaj, spokesman for President Jacob Zuma said doctors indicate Mandela has made steady progress and continues to improve.
“The doctors reported that former President Nelson Mandela, who was hospitalized for two weeks last month, has recovered from his surgical procedure and the lung infection. The medical team said the President Mandela has made steady progress and that, clinically, he continues to improve,” he said.
Maharaj said he could not comment specifically on a remark attributed to a Mandela family person that the anti-apartheid icon had “healed and is stronger than before.”
“I can only give you the report that the doctors have given to the president [Jacob Zuma]. Different people will have different impressions of him. They are all valid impressions. I think we have found in our visits, when he was still in the hospital, [he was] steadily improving, his spirits improving, he was becoming more and more alert, and that continues. But, from the point of view of his recovery, the doctors are not saying he has recovered from the infection, as well as from the surgical procedure,” Maharaj said.
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He said Mandela will continue to receive ‘high care’ at his Johannesburg home.
“The team of doctors that attended to him even when he was at the hospital continues. So, they continue to observe him carefully. At his age, they have to look for any new development and be careful to monitor and attend to it as soon as it arises, rather than let it develop,” Maharaj said.