South Africa Mandela
South African schoolchildren show a get-well sign from their classroom's window at a school adjacent to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Afric...
South African schoolchildren show a get-well sign from their classroom's window at a school adjacent to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. Former South African President Nelson Mandela was admitted to the hospital Wednesday to undergo routine test, said a statement from the Mandela Foundation. (AP Photo) SOUTH AFRICA OUT
South Africa Mandela
Pupils from a school adjacent to the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela, fondly known as "Madiba", is said to be undergoing...
Pupils from a school adjacent to the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela, fondly known as "Madiba", is said to be undergoing routine tests, watch from under a get well message posted on a window, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South Africa Mandela
Students from a school adjacent to the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela, fondly known as "Madiba", is said to be underg...
Students from a school adjacent to the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela, fondly known as "Madiba", is said to be undergoing routine tests make their way past a giant get well card Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
South Africa Mandela
Children from a school adjacent to the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela, fondly known as "Madiba" is said to be undergoin...
Children from a school adjacent to the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela, fondly known as "Madiba" is said to be undergoing routine tests, make their way to a swimming lesson below a giant get well card Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
South Africa Mandela
A young boy peeps through an steel fence displaying 'Get Well' messages to former South African President Nelson Mandela, at a school adjacent to the...
A young boy peeps through an steel fence displaying 'Get Well' messages to former South African President Nelson Mandela, at a school adjacent to the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. 92-year old Mandela, is fondly known as "Madiba", is said to be undergoing routine medical tests at the Milpark Hospital. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South Africa Mandela
A security officer stands at the main entrance of the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011, where former South Afr...
A security officer stands at the main entrance of the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011, where former South African President Nelson Mandela is said to be undergoing routine medical tests. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has spent a second night in a Johannesburg hospital, but the South African government says there is no need to panic.
In a statement late Thursday, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe offered no specifics on why Mandela was taken to the hospital Wednesday, but said he was undergoing specialized tests.
Motlanthe, who is acting president while President Jacob Zuma attends the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, referred to Mandela's history of respiratory problems. Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his 27 years in prison.
Motlanthe notes "mounting concern" among the public about Mandela's health, but says, "Medically there is no need to panic."
Motlanthe is scheduled to brief reporters on Mandela's health later Friday.
