Four days into 2025, the Department of Health (DOH) continued to report firecracker injuries, with the tally reaching 771 on Saturday since Dec. 22, including 39 new cases on New Year’s Eve and 16 on New Year’s Day.
The new total, culled from reports of 54 out of 62 government hospitals designated as sentinel sites, is 27.6 percent higher than the 604 reported as of Jan. 4 last year.
Of the victims, 453 are age 19 and below and 636 are male.
The DOH also confirmed that a 19-year-old male in Davao del Norte died of a stray bullet wound during the New Year celebration.
READ: Tally of firecracker injuries in N. Mindanao slightly down
The DOH also said road traffic incidents since Dec. 22 now total 638 cases, including 31 new cases reported on Saturday.
The new total is 30 percent higher than the cases reported in 2024. The DOH monitoring of injuries is expected to end on Jan. 6. —JEROME ANING