The condition of President Emeritus Guido de Marco keeps improving day by day and his medical team has confirmed he is “on the road to recovery”.

It is still too early to say when he will be discharged from Mater Dei Hospital but his morale is high and each day he is slowly regaining his strength.

Prof. de Marco, 79, who was critical on Thursday after he developed complications before undergoing a scheduled angioplasty to widen an artery in his heart, has defied medical expectations with his recovery.

On Friday he was brought round from an induced coma and started communicating and responding to treatment. A day later he was taken off the life-support machine.

His son, Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco, said when contacted that as a family they had been “overwhelmed” by the show of solidarity, prayers and concern expressed from all political camps and people from different walks of life.

“I am grateful to everyone who has helped us with their touching words of encouragement through this difficult time, and more than us they have helped my father fight on,” he said.

“As a family we do not have enough words to thank everyone for the respect and support they have shown us,” Dr de Marco added.