A youth injured by firecrackers is cared for at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila | PHOTO: AFP
MANILA, Philippines — Fifteen more firecracker-related injuries were reported by the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, raising the total cases to 277.
“These were 49 percent higher compared to 2021 (186 cases) but 12 percent lower compared to the five-year average (313 cases) during the same time period,” said DOH in its latest surveillance report on firecracker-related injuries.
No deaths, meanwhile, were reported to have been caused by firecrackers.
The DOH also pointed out that 80 percent or 220 of the injuries were male; with 28 percent of the total victims sustaining eye injuries, and 6 percent ending up with blast or burn injuries resulting in amputation.
Nine percent of the reported cases resulted in hospitalization while one percent was referred to other hospitals for further management.
According to DOH, 49 percent of the total victims were actively involved in the firecracker that injured them, with 55 percent of the incident occurring in the streets and 42 percent at home.
A total of 131 injuries were recorded in Metro Manila with the rest of the incidents broken down in the following regions:
- Western Visayas – 33
- Ilocos Region – 25
- Central Luzon – 23
- Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) – 15
- Bicol Region – 13
- Cagayan Valley – 8
- Central Visayas – 7
- Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat) – 6
- Cordillera Administrative Region – 4
- Mimaropa (Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon) – 3
- Northern Mindanao – 3
- Davao Region – 2
- Eastern Visayas – 1
- Zamboanga Peninsula – 1
- Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) – 1
The only injury caused by a stray bullet was recorded in Metro Manila, no additional injuries due to this were reported on Wednesday.