DoH reports 94 cases of firecracker-related injuries in 7 metro hospitals

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health has documented 94 cases of injuries caused by fireworks, a few hours before 2012, the Department of Health said on its website.

As of 10 p.m. Saturday, 31 were treated at the East Avenue Medical City, 17 at the Ospital ng Tondo, 15 at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, 10 at the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center, another 10 at the Philippine Orthopedic Hospital, seven at the Valenzuela Medical Center, and four at Medical City.

In a press conference earlier in the day at the East Avenue Hospital, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the DoH received data only from the seven hospitals so far.

Health officials feared that despite their Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction campaign, there would be more reports of injuries after the celebration.

To encourage the public against the use of fireworks this New Year, the department launched “Goodbye Paputok”, a compact disc containing recorded sounds of firecrackers.

The digital file of the track could also be downloaded at the DoH’s website: https://doh.gov.ph