Pope Francis stable, daily updates will stop: Vatican

Pope Francis, battling pneumonia in hospital for nearly three weeks, remained stable on Thursday and did not have any new episodes of respiratory crisis, the Vatican said.

In a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff continues treatment, the pope's doctors said they would not issue another medical bulletin until Saturday, "considering the stability of the clinical picture."

Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment.

In the latest detailed medical update on his condition, the Vatican said the pope had not had a fever and his blood tests had remained stable. Despite pausing the daily readouts about his condition, the doctors continued to call the pope's prognosis "guarded", meaning he was not yet out of danger.

The tone of the updates from the Vatican has been more upbeat in recent days, following what was described as two episodes of "acute respiratory insufficiency" on Monday.

On Thursday, the Vatican said the pope had been able to work between receiving his treatments and taking rest.


Reuters