Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said in an interview on Rede TV on Thursday that his condition has improved, making him less likely to undergo surgery for a blocked bowel linked to a 2018 stabbing.

He said he expected to be hospitalized in Sao. Paolo Friday can leave.

Bolsonaro appeared in the TV interview and his doctor, who stated that the president’s bowels are less congested now than when he was hospitalized on Wednesday. The 66-year-old conservative populist had been suffering from hiccups for more than ten days.

Bolsonaro became infected with the coronavirus a year ago. He has received a lot of criticism for his approach to Covid-19, which he calls a kind of flu.

He said in November that he would not be vaccinated. More than 537,000 Brazilians have died from Covid-19.