• (Note to Editors: Barring unforeseen changes in their condition, the next condition report on the twins will be released on Friday, Aug. 16.)

As of 1 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 15, Maria Teresa and Maria de Jesus Quiej Alvarez were upgraded from critical to serious condition with stable vital signs in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital in Westwood.

Maria Teresa was taken off the ventilator on Aug. 15. She is still slightly sedated, but now is breathing on her own.

Maria de Jesus now is feeding from a baby bottle. The breathing tube was removed from her on Aug. 13, and she continues to breathe on her own.

Both girls slowly continue to grow more alert and more active. Doctors remain cautiously optimistic about their long-term prospects for recovery. The twins, conjoined at birth, were separated Aug. 6 in a nearly 23-hour surgery.