DOH: No firecracker casualties in Calabarzon, Mimaropa

SAN PEDRO CITY— Health officials and the local police recorded 23 cases of firecracker injuries in the Southern Tagalog regions but no firecracker-related casualties.

In Calabarzon, 10 more cases of injuries were added hours before and after New Year’s Eve, Department of Health (DoH) regional director Dr. Eduardo Janairo said Tuesday.

“No death and no blindness caused by fireworks,” Janairo said in a text message.

The DoH recorded a total of 18 firecracker-related injuries from December 21, which is 94 percent lower than the figures from the same period last year.

The most fatal was the case of a male victim whose finger had to be amputated following a blast.

Janairo said the majority of the victims were male between the ages of five and 69. The majority of  accidents also occurred in Rizal province that resulted in burns and eye injuries.

In Mimaropa, five incidents were recorded from December 1 to January 1, said Ramonito Martin of the DOH-Health Emergency Management Staff.

Three of these incidents happened in Oriental Mindoro and two in Cuyo, Palawan.

Mimaropa police spokesperson Supt. Imelda Tolentino said no one died from firecrackers this year. /ee