CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – No stray bullet injury. No case of fireworks ingestion. No death reported.
At the close of the first day of 2020, the Department of Health said, noting even a 35 percent decrease in fireworks- related injuries. This, even as the agency cautioned the public that the numbers may still increase due to “late consultation.”
For the period Dec. 21, 2019 to Jan. 1, 2020, the DOH registered 164 fireworks-related injuries – 87 cases lower than the 251 reported for the same period last year – and 71 percent lower than the 403 average for the five-year period from 2014-2018.
“We were able to reduce cases by as much as 35 percent, this is indeed a welcome development but we will not stop until we achieve zero fireworks related injuries,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a news statement.
The National Capital Region had the most cases at 84, followed by Calabarzon with 13, Ilocos Region with 12, Central Luzon with 11, and Cagayan Valley and Western Visayas both registering 10.
Of the NCR cases, 27 came from Manila, 19 from Quezon City, 9 from Mandaluyong, 7 each from Marikina and Las Piñas. The NCR registered a 16 percent decrease in the number of injuries compared to last year.
Of the victims, males comprise 70 percent of all reported injuries, their age range from 1 to 71. Sixty three percent (104 cases) of the injuries were among those aged under 15 years.
Per the DOH report, the top fireworks that caused the injuries were “kwitis” with 33 cases, “luces” with 19, “fountain” with 18, and “piccolo,” 13.
Of all reported injuries, 71 percent were blast/burn incidents without amputation 26 percent were eye injuries, and 4 percent blast/burn requiring amputation. Fifty five percent of the injuries occurred on the streets while 43 percent at home.
As to the source of the fireworks that caused the injuries, the DOH said 59 percent were from legal fireworks, 32 percent from illegal, and 10 percent unknown.
