MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro recovering from intestinal surgery but has caught pneumonia

The Brazilian president originally was expected to stay in hospital for 10 days but the spokesman said he would remain hospitalized for another seven days

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has pneumonia after registering a fever during a hospital stay, but a tweet on the far-right leader’s Twitter profile on Thursday said he was “well.”Bolsonaro had an operation on Jan. 28 to remove a colostomy bag that was put in place after he was stabbed while campaigning ahead of Brazil’s election last year.

 He had originally been expected to stay in hospital for 10 days but this week his spokesman said he would remain hospitalized at least until Feb. 11 because of a fever and other complications.

A tweet on Bolsonaro’s Twitter profile said: “Be careful not to be sensationalist. We are very relaxed, well and remain steady.”

The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement on Thursday that doctors had adjusted his antibiotics dose after a fever late on Wednesday.

Presidential spokesman Otavio Rego Barros said at a news conference that the president was in semi-intensive care. He said Bolsonaro had a 38 degree Celsius (100.4°F) fever on Wednesday and bacterial pneumonia.

Nevertheless the president is in a positive mood and longs to have a beef steak with chip potatoes.

If the president is unable to carry out his duties, then Vice President Hamilton Mourao, a retired general who has already clashed with Bolsonaro over a number of issues, would take charge.

Surgeon Dr. Antonio Luiz Macedo said the president needed to remain in hospital for at least another five to seven days. The doctor added that according to the latest tomography , intestine functions are evolving positively, nevertheless Bolsonaro remains with a nasal-gastric tube, an abdominal drain tube and is fed liquids orally. But the president is in good spirits, undergoing physiotherapy and makes short walks in the hospital's floor corridor.