Publicist: Liza Minnelli To Go Home

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) â€” Liza Minnelli was to be released Monday from a hospital where she has been recovering from viral encephalitis, her publicist said Sunday. <br><br>The 54-year-old singer was

Monday, October 30th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) â€” Liza Minnelli was to be released Monday from a hospital where she has been recovering from viral encephalitis, her publicist said Sunday.

The 54-year-old singer was hospitalized about three weeks ago after contracting the disease, a potentially deadly inflammation of the brain that had left her in serious condition.

Publicist Michael Hartman said Sunday that Minnelli is ``still a little weak but feeling well enough to go home.''

``She will spend the next few months recovering from home with attendants,'' he said.

Cleveland Clinic Hospital spokeswoman Jackie Weder said Sunday that she had not received official notice from Minnelli's doctor that she was to be released.

Paramedics were summoned to Minnelli's Fort Lauderdale home Oct. 8 after an aide told them she had been found unconscious.

Encephalitis is rare in the United States, with about 1,500 cases reported annually. Symptoms include muscle weakness or paralysis, seizures and unconsciousness.