CALM BEFORE THE CHAOS. Department of Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa and other officials check on Saturday (Dec. 30, 2023) the preparedness of East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City in handling expected fireworks-related cases even after the New Year's Eve celebrations. There are now 107 fireworks-related injuries since monitoring began on Dec. 21. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reported the case of fireworks-related injuries involving a 72-year-old man.
The elderly sustained burns and abrasions due to kwitis (skyrocket) lit by someone else in a street in the National Capital Region.
He was the oldest case this year and was among the 11 new cases reported as of Friday, bringing the total to 107 since Dec. 21.
All new cases occurred at home and on the streets, with the youngest aged six.
There was also a new amputation case involving a 19-year-old male from Cagayan Valley, whose left hand was mangled by the illegal “Pla-Pla,” a powerful rectangular-shaped firecracker.
There have been no additional reports of ingestion so far, the DOH said.
“The trends in data are clear and consistent: fireworks-related injuries happen at home or nearby, involving mostly young boys, but also affecting passive onlookers of any age or sex,” the DOH said in its report.
It reiterated its earlier statement that watching community fireworks displays from a safe distance is the safest way to welcome 2024.
The top-ranked fireworks that cause at seven out of 10 injuries are boga (improvised cannon), Five Star, kwitis, Piccolo, Pla-Pla, luces (sparklers) and Whistle Bomb. (PNA)
