Nelson Mandela's illness no cause for alarm, says Jacob Zuma

South African president says country must not panic after anti-apartheid hero spends second night in hospital.

Nelson Mandela’s illness has cast a shadow over the Easter holiday in South Africa. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/AFP/Getty Images

Nelson Mandela has spent a second night in hospital as the South African president, Jacob Zuma, cautioned that "the country must not panic".

The 94-year-old hero of the anti-apartheid struggle is being treated for a recurring lung infection and is said by officials to be conscious and responding positively.

Mandela's latest illness has cast a shadow over the Easter holiday in South Africa but Zuma, using the former president's clan name, Madiba, said people should "slow down the anxiety".

"Of course I have been saying to people, you should bear in mind Madiba is no longer that young and if he goes for check-ups every now and again, I don't think people must be alarmed about it," Zuma told the BBC on Thursday. "I would like to really say the country must not panic."

When asked if people should prepare for the inevitable, Zuma replied: "In Zulu, when someone passes away who is very old, people say he or she has gone home. I think those are some of the things we should be thinking about."

But he stressed that Mandela had been able to handle the situation very well so far. "Very few outstanding personalities in the world live to his level," he added.

Mandela was admitted for treatment shortly before midnight on Wednesday, his third stint in hospital in four months. He is believed to be at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria and to have been visited by close family.

Barack Obama led wellwishers around the world in expressing hope for his speedy recovery. The US president said he was "deeply concerned with Nelson Mandela's health" and "we will be keeping him in our thoughts and prayers".

He added: "When you think of a single individual that embodies the kind of leadership qualities that I think we all aspire to, the first name that comes up is Nelson Mandela. And so we wish him all the very best."

Obama said Mandela was as strong physically as he had been in leadership and character. His remarks came on Thursday as he met the leaders of Sierra Leone, Senegal, Malawi and Cape Verde.

People around the world posted best wishes on Twitter. South African anti-apartheid activist Frank Chikane tweeted a call for prayers: "As we enter the Easter weekend we should dedicate our prayers for Tata Mandela for his speedy recovery."

Mandela has been mostly absent from the political scene for the past decade but remains a beloved symbol of the struggle against white-minority rule. He spent 27 years in prison, including 18 on Robben Island. He became South Africa's first black president after winning the country's first multiracial democratic election in 1994.

Mandela has a history of lung problems dating to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He was in hospital briefly earlier this month for a check-up and spent nearly three weeks in hospital in December with a lung infection and after surgery to remove gallstones. That was his longest stay in hospital since his release from prison in 1990.