DOH calls for alternative noise makers as 21 hurt by firecrackers since Dec. 21

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Health officials renewed its appeal to the public to use alternative methods of noise-making for the Christmas and New Year revelry as it recorded a total of 21 cases of fireworks-related injuries as of Tuesday morning.

Based on the DOH National Epidemiology Center’s “Iwas Paputok Injury Registry,” which started recording cases at 6 a.m. last December 21, 10 of the 21 cases were from Metro Manila.

No death, no firecracker ingestion and no stray bullet injury have so far been reported.

DOH Assistant Secretary and NEC director Eric Tayag said 12 of the 21 injuries were caused by piccolo, a banned firecracker that has been causing majority of the injuries in the past New Year celebrations in the country.

The piccolo firecracker was the most accessible to children because it is cheap and easy to use as they worked like matchsticks.

Majority of those injured were males, Tayag said, adding that six of the victims were children below 10 years old.

Eight of the 21 injuries were passive user of firecrackers or just bystanders, he added.

Amang Rodriguez Medical Center reported the most number of fireworks related injury cases, followed by East Avenue Medical Center and Western Visayas Medical Center.

The first case registered by the DOH was a nine-year-old boy from Tondo, Manila who sustained injuries in the right thumb and index finger after using piccolo last Dec. 21.

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