More stray-bullet, firecracker injuries reported
AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA—The Department of Health has recorded 262 revelry-related injuries, including three more people hit by stray bullets, 12 hours before the New Year.
According to the “Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction 2013” report of the DOH-National Epidemiology Center, which started recording such injuries last Dec. 21, the number of people injured had increased from 244 to 262 as of 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The latest figure was 17 percent higher than the average for the years 2008-2012. It was 27 percent more than the number of injuries recorded during the same period, when 207 cases were registered.
Assistant Health Secretary Enrique Tayag earlier said the number might surpass previous records as health authorities braced themselves to handle 50 to 80 injuries every hour during the 12-hour period from 6 p.m. of Dec. 31 to 6 a.m. of Jan. 1.
The latest number of cases recorded by DOH included three new cases of stray bullet injuries, bringing the total to eight.
Among the new victims was a 40-year-old woman who was hit by a bullet on the left thigh while she was standing in front of her house in Barangay (village) Holy Spirit in Quezon City.
“Barangay Holy Spirit was listed as one of most dangerous in Quezon City,” Tayag said.
The health department had earlier released a list of the “most dangerous” places based on the number of firecracker-related injuries over a three-year period.
A 37-year-old man from Rodriguez, Rizal, was hit by a stray bullet on the right shoulder, while a 28-year-old man from Marikina City was hit by a bullet on the right leg, the report said.
The DOH said 253 out of the 262 cases were due to firecrackers and one due to firecracker ingestion. No deaths were reported.
Most of the cases (127 or 48 percent) were in the National Capital Region, majority of which occurred in the City of Manila.
Of the 253 firecracker-related injuries, 164 or 65 percent were caused by “piccolo,” an illegal type of firecracker.
Most of the victims were males (221), 79 of them children below 10 years old.
The DOH report said an 8-year-old boy from Cebu lost his right hand while lighting a firecracker.
The health department is expected to conclude its count of firecracker-related casualties on January 5.
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