Assistant Health Secretary Eric Tayag
A four-month-old baby, who was accidentally hit in the left eye by a homemade noisemaker has become the latest fatality from the New Year festivities, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
In its daily update, which showed that revelry-related injuries have climbed to 854, the DOH said the baby boy from Bacolod City was hit by a “boga,” also known as a PVC cannon, on December 29.
He was confined at Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital for three days until he succumbed to sepsis, or blood poisoning, on January 1, health officials said.
The baby was the second reported death from the violent New Year revelries. On Monday, the DOH said that a 9-year-old boy died in Cabanatuan City on New Year’s Day after throwing a small can with explosive powder into flames.
Dr. Eric Tayag, assistant health secretary, said he is expecting the number of deaths from the indiscriminate use of firecrackers to increase by the end of the count on January 5, when all hospitals and health centers in the country will be submitting their reports to the DOH. Jocelyn R. Uy