Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was released Friday from a hospital in the French Riviera city-state of Monaco where he underwent medical tests for heart problems, his press office said.
The 84-year-old three-time premier said in a message to supporters that his health was good and that he entered the hospital to carry out some tests that were “a little more than routine” and ordered by his personal physician out of caution.
“I am not worried about my condition,’’ Berlusconi wrote. “I am worried for the many Italian victims of COVID and other illnesses, and for the many other Italians who are suffering from the consequences of a very serious crisis.”
Berlusconi was hospitalized for COVID-19 for about 10 days in September and underwent heart surgery to replace an aortic valve in 2016. He has had a pacemaker for years, and also has overcome prostate cancer and a series of other ailments. .
Berlusconi described his bout with COVID-19 as “insidious,” calling it the most dangerous challenge he ever faced.
The media mogul no longer holds public office, but remains the head of his Forza Italia party and is vocal in national politics.
On Friday, he sent a message of solidarity for the opening of the Christian Democratic Party’s national convention this weekend. Last week, he issued a strong condemnation of the siege of the U.S. Capitol, saying President Trump’s refusal to accept his election defeat had created “a very dangerous laceration in American society.”