DOH: 839 injured in New Year revelry

MANILA, Philippines – The number of injuries during the New Year revelry has risen to 839, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday, January 4.

This is 11 cases lower than the 850 injuries reported in 2015. The figure is also 11% lower than the 5-year average from 2010 to 2014, Health Secretary Janette Garin said in a press conference.

But she noted that there has been an increase in the number of young children injured during the New Year revelry.

Of the 358 victims injured by the banned firecracker piccolo, 267 or 74% are children 14 years old or below. Most young victims are between the ages of 7 and 8.

Garin said the number of injured children may have increased because firecrackers are readily available and affordable.

“Kung wala talaga siya at hindi binebenta, walang batang masasaktan,” Garin said.

(If these firecrackers are not available and are not sold, no children would have been injured.)

The DOH also recorded 7 stray bullet cases, one case of firecracker ingestion, and one death during its monitoring period from December 21, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

Most of the firecracker-related injuries came from the National Capital Region (NCR) with 467 cases, followed by Region VI with 79 cases.

In NCR, Manila recorded the most number of cases with 168, followed by Quezon City with 89 cases and Mandaluyong City with 52 cases.

To further lessen the number of injuries reported each year, the DOH renewed its call for a total ban on firecrackers. – Rappler.com