HOUSTON — Former president George H.W. Bush remains in stable condition at a Houston hospital, where he is being treated for a lingering cough related to bronchitis.

George Kovacik, a spokesman for Methodist Hospital, said Sunday there has been no change over the last couple of days in the status of the 88-year-old Bush.

Aides originally said the 41st president could be released from the hospital this weekend.

But his cough has yet to clear up, and doctors decided to extend his stay as a precaution.

Bush has been in and out of the hospital recently for complications resulting from bronchitis.

Hospital visitors have included Bush’s son, former president George W. Bush, and his wife, Laura Bush.

The elder Bush has a form of Parkinson’s disease that has forced him to use a wheelchair or motorized scooter to get around.

Bush was seen a few weeks ago attending a Houston Texans NFL game, something he does frequently.

The elder Bush was vice president under Ronald Reagan from 1980 to 1988, when he was elected president. He lost his reelection bid to Bill Clinton four years later.

Bush and his wife, Barbara, now make their winter home in Houston and spend summers in Kennebunkport, Maine.

The former president was a naval aviator in World War II — at one point the youngest in the Navy — and was shot down over the Pacific.

He achieved notoriety in retirement for skydiving on at least three of his birthdays since leaving the White House in 1992.