Philippines logs 15 more fireworks-related injuries, total now at 20

MANILA — The Philippines logged 15 additional fireworks-related injuries, raising the tally to 20, the Department of Health said Monday.

The figure is similar to those recorded in the same period in 2021, the agency said.

"Mula kahapon, Dec. 25, 15 ang naitalang bagong kaso ng fireworks-related injury mula sa 61 na DOH sentinel hospitals," the DOH said in a statement.

"Sa kasalukuyan, ang kabuuang bilang ng mga kaso ng pinsala dulot ng paputok ay nasa 20, kasindami ng naitala noong nakaraang taon sa sakop na petsa."

(From Dec. 25, 15 new cases of fireworks-related injury were recorded from 61 DOH sentinel hospitals. The total number of fireworks-related injuries is at 20, the same as the figure recorded in the same period last year.)

• Fireworks-related injuries declining in PH since 2017

Fireworks-related injuries have been on a downward trend in the country since 2017, according to the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

Based on DOH data, the decline accelerated in 2020 and 2021, during the tougher times of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns implemented, the ABS-CBN IRG report noted.

"The average number of fireworks-related injuries a day decreased from 64 in 2011 to 29 in 2017. Then it plummeted to 8 in 2020 during the height of the pandemic but increased slightly to 12 in 2021 when restrictions had eased a tad," it read.

According to the report, the DOH recorded 6,917 fireworks-related injuries from 2011 to 2021, including blast injuries, fireworks ingestion, and stray bullet injuries, among others.

"Fireworks blasts account for 98 percent of the total fireworks-related injuries in the past decade," the report said.

The ABS-CBN IRG also noted that more than half (54 percent) of the 6,797 injuries from fireworks blasts in the past 10 years were recorded in the National Capital Region, followed by Western Visayas and Ilocos Region, both with 9 percent.

"An average of 79 percent of the recorded injuries from fireworks blasts were sustained by male victims. Most victims were children below 15 years. About 58 percent of the victims were active users or users who directly handled firecrackers," it said.

The piccolo firecracker was the cause of almost half of the fireworks blasts from 2011 to 2017, the report said, most of which happened when victims were handling it.

• BFP backs call for common areas for fireworks display

— With a report from ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

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