Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has announced that his health is gradually improving, in an interview published on Wednesday.

The billionaire businessman and four-time prime minister told daily Il Giornale in an interview that “doctors have finally allowed me to go back to work a little bit, but without leaving the house.”

Berlusconi, 84, has been in and out of hospital over the past months after contracting COVID-19 last September and recently speculation has mounted about a deterioration of his health.

He also said the government lead by Mario Draghi and supported by his center-right Forza Italia party, must press on with tax and justice reforms.

“Without (these reforms) the country will not exit the crisis,” he added.