Johannesburg. Nelson Mandela was in “good spirits” yesterday as he spent a second day in hospital for a lung infection, in the latest health scare for the revered peace icon, South Africas presidency said.“Mandela is in good spirits and enjoyed a full breakfast this morning,” President Jacob Zuma’s office said in a statement, as messages of concern for the ailing 94-year-old poured in from across the globe.“The doctors report that he is making steady progress. He remains under treatment and observation in hospital.”The anti-apartheid hero, one of the towering figures of modern history, was admitted to hospital for the recurring lung infection just before midnight on Wednesday, his third hospitalisation in four months.Zuma sought Thursday to reassure South Africans that Mandela was in good hands as his doctors reported some progress in his treatment.“The country must not panic, Madiba is fine,” Zuma told the BBC, referring to South Africa’s first black president by his clan name. “The doctors advise that former president Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection,.It is the second time the Nobel peace laureate has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for checkups on March 9.That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December, when Mandela was treated for another lung infection and underwent gallstone surgery.
