President George Abela yesterday spent the day resting in hospital, after fainting on Friday, but is confident he will regain his strength for Saturday's L-Istrina to help raise money during the annual charity campaign.

"He is feeling much better and was even joking with people who turned up to visit him in hospital... He even started talking about work and what needs to be done next week," a spokesman from the President's office said soon after visiting him in hospital, where he was being treated for dehydration after he fainted during a funeral on Friday.

"Although he was not able to visit the L-Istrina television set-up, he was shown photos of it. He wants to be kept updated," the spokesman added.

Dr Abela was taken to Mater Dei Hospital on Friday morning after he passed out briefly at Qormi parish church during the funeral of long-time friend and entrepreneur Angelo Fenech, who died suddenly on Wednesday.

The President was kept in hospital under observation on Friday night after tests revealed his condition was not serious.

A medical examination yesterday confirmed that he fainted when his blood pressure plummeted because he was dehydrated, a spokesman for the Office of the President said.

The President responded well to intravenous fluid treatment but doctors decided to keep him for another night to ensure he was completely rehydrated before being discharged. This will be determined following an examination this morning. Doctors also ordered that he rests for the next two days, so his engagements have been cancelled until tomorrow.

Dr Abela was yesterday unable to attend a number of planned events that included the inauguration of the Ta' Qali Fun Park and the Mellieħa Christmas Village in aid of L-Istrina. He also had to miss out on the launch of the traditional Milied Flimkien campaign where he was to deliver his first Christmas message since he became President.

A spokesman said Dr Abela's illness was probably prompted by long working hours during the past days, coupled with the shock at Mr Fenech's sudden death.

Over the past weeks Dr Abela has been busy keeping up with official duties and preparation work for L-Istrina. This year's I-Istrina will be an even bigger fundraising challenge since, for the first time, people are being asked to donate during a time of recession and without the chance of winning prizes in return.

According to the official President's engagements list for this week, he had 27 listed events, including a number of courtesy visits and the presentation of the Order of Merit Awards.