DOH tallies 4 firecracker-related injuries

More than a week before Filipinos ring in the New Year, the Department of Health (DOH) has already tallied four injuries due to firecrackers. Of the four cases, three were recorded from Dec. 23 to Dec. 24 and one between Dec. 21 and Dec. 22. The firecracker-related injuries came from the 61 sentinel hospitals of the DOH. The health department has urged the public to refrain from using firecrackers and instead create “loud noises such as through pots and pans, speakers, horns and percussion” to welcome 2023. Maria Rosario Vergeire, officer in charge of the DOH, is optimistic that the country would be able to sustain the downward trend in firecracker-related casualties that began even before the pandemic. From a high of 677 reported injuries in 2016, the country saw its lowest case count at 122 last year, the DOH noted. —Kathleen de Villa