Alberto Zangrillo, Silvio Berlusconi's longtime physician, talks to reporters at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week, has an early-stage lung infection but was breathing on his own Friday after being hospitalized in Milan, his personal physician said. Alberto Zangrillo, who is also on the staff of San Raffaele hospital, where Berlusconi was taken in the early hours of the day, told reporters that test results are reassuring and 'makes us optimistic' for his recovery over the next 'hours and days.' (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
ROME (AP) - Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is responding 'œoptimally'ť to COVID-19 treatment but is the most vulnerable type of patient and is in 'œthe most delicate phase'ť of his infection, his personal doctor said Sunday.
Dr. Alberto Zangrillo repeated that he nevertheless remained 'œcautiously optimistic'ť about Berlusconi's recovery. Berlusconi turns 84 in a few weeks and has had a history of heart problems that required a pacemaker several years ago.
The three-time premier checked into the San Raffaele hospital in Milan early Friday after testing positive for the virus earlier in the week. At the time, he had the early stages of a lung infection. Earlier in the week he said he tested positive but showed no symptoms. Then he said he had a fever and felt achy but still vowed to campaign for his Forza Italia party in upcoming regional elections.
'œThe patient is responding optimally to treatment," Zangrillo told reporters outside the hospital. 'œThis doesn't mean we can claim victory because, as you know, he belongs to the most fragile category,'ť given his age.
Official data shows that men aged 80-87 have the highest COVID-19 death rate among all cases in Italy, at 47%.
Zangrillo suggested Berlusconi wouldn't be released anytime soon, adding that fighting coronavirus 'œrequires adequate treatment and takes its time.'ť
Berlusconi spent some of his summer vacation at his seaside villa on Sardinia's Emerald Coast. Many of Italy's recent cases of COVID-19 have been linked to clusters in people who vacationed in Sardinia.
Zangrillo is head of intensive care at San Raffaele. To date, Berlusconi is believed to still be in a VIP ward at the clinic, not in intensive care.
Zangrillo has been criticized for having asserted at the end of May, when Italy's lockdown had greatly slowed its rate of new infections to just a few hundred a day, that 'œclinically speaking the virus doesn't exist anymore." Zangrillo has since acknowledged that statement was too strong and 'œoff-key" and was based on observing that fewer patients required intensive care at the time.
Both Italy's virus caseload and ICU numbers have been rising in recent weeks, mostly among Italians returning from vacation.
On Sunday, Italy added another 1,297 confirmed infections to its official toll. Another seven people with COVID died over the past day, the health ministry reported, bringing Italy's official death toll to 35,541, the second-highest in Europe after Britain.
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Alberto Zangrillo, Silvio Berlusconi's longtime physician, talks to reporters at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week, has an early-stage lung infection but was breathing on his own Friday after being hospitalized in Milan, his personal physician said. Alberto Zangrillo, who is also on the staff of San Raffaele hospital, where Berlusconi was taken in the early hours of the day, told reporters that test results are reassuring and 'makes us optimistic' for his recovery over the next 'hours and days.' (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
Alberto Zangrillo, Silvio Berlusconi's longtime physician, talks to reporters at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week, has an early-stage lung infection but was breathing on his own Friday after being hospitalized in Milan, his personal physician said. Alberto Zangrillo, who is also on the staff of San Raffaele hospital, where Berlusconi was taken in the early hours of the day, told reporters that test results are reassuring and 'makes us optimistic' for his recovery over the next 'hours and days.' (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
A cameraman films an exterior of the San Raffaele hospital where former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi is hospitalized, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Sen. Lucia Ronzulli, who is a top aide to Berlusconi told RAI state TV Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, that the former premier was admitted to a Milan hospital early Friday as a precaution to monitor his coronavirus infection after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2019 file photo, former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi addresses a rally in Rome. Former Italian Berlusconi says he no longer has fever or aches from the 'insidious disease' of COVID-19 as he recovers in quarantine at one of his private villas. Berlusconi spoke by phone Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020, to the leaders of his Forza Italia party who were in Genoa campaigning for Italy's upcoming regional elections. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2019 file photo, Silvio Berlusconi, Italian former Premier and President of Forza Italia (Go Italy) party speaks during the European Peoples Party (EPP) congress in Zagreb, Croatia. Sen. Lucia Ronzulli, who is a top aide to Silvio Berlusconi told RAI state TV Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, that the former premier was admitted to a Milan hospital early Friday as a precaution to monitor his coronavirus infection after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, file)
The Associated Press
People walk outside the San Raffaele hospital where former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi is hospitalized, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Sen. Lucia Ronzulli, who is a top aide to Berlusconi told RAI state TV Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, that the former premier was admitted to a Milan hospital early Friday as a precaution to monitor his coronavirus infection after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
The Associated Press
A view of the San Raffaele hospital where former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi is hospitalizied, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Sen. Lucia Ronzulli, who is a top aide to Berlusconi told RAI state TV Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, that the former premier was admitted to a Milan hospital early Friday as a precaution to monitor his coronavirus infection after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press