The doctors treating Pope Francis said on Friday that the pope’s condition is not life-threatening but he is also not out of danger.
The 88-year-old pope has been in the hospital with pneumonia and chronic bronchitis.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri and Dr. Luigi Carbone gave an update on the pope’s condition. They said he will remain in the hospital for at least the next week, adding that he has received supplemental oxygen occasionally and is responding to the drug therapy that they have prescribed, The Associated Press reported.
Alfieri said the pope was a “fragile patient” but was in “good spirits” even joking with hospital staff, Sky News reported.
Carbone is the pope’s personal physician and said that the medications were strengthened after Francis was diagnosed with pneumonia this week. He also has a multipronged bacterial and virtual respiratory tract infection, according to the AP.
The doctors did not specify what medications were strengthened.
Some positive news came out of the media briefing — they have not found germs in his blood, meaning that he is not septic, which could lead to death.
[ Pope Francis health: Pontiff shows signs of bilateral pneumonia ]
The pope was admitted to Rome’s Policlinico A Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, The New York Times reported, after his bronchitis got worse. He was eventually diagnosed with a complex respiratory infection and additionally pneumonia in both lungs. He also has asthmatic bronchitis.
In addition to the medicines and occasional oxygen, doctors have prescribed “absolute rest.”
He has shown some slight signs of improvement by getting up and out of bed to eat breakfast, the AP reported. His routine also includes reading and prayer along with therapy, the Vatican Press Office said, according to Catholic News Agency.
This is not the first time Pope Francis has had pneumonia. He was hospitalized with “acute and severe pneumonia in the lower lungs,” the Times reported.
He also lost a portion of a lung due to pleurisy when he was younger, Sky News reported.