It’s 69, not 96! Hospital encodes wrong age of ‘oldest’ firecracker victim

Health Sec. Francisco Duque III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LYN RILLON

Contrary to earlier reports,the Department of Health (DOH) clarified that the age of the oldest victim of firecracker-related explosion was 69 years old.

Earlier in a press briefing at the East Avenue Medical Center, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that a 96-year-old man obtained second-degree burn on his face and hands caused by “kwitis” or sky rocket.

The identity of the victim was not disclosed but Duque said that the man was an active user of firecrackers.

However, Duque later on clarified that the victim’s age was actually 69 years old.

He claimed that the hospital, who was not named during the briefing, “erroneously encoded the age.”

The DOH recorded a lower number of firecracker related injury this year with 191 cases compared to the 350 cases last year.

The City of Manila had the highest injuries recorded with 63 cases, that was followed by Quezon City, Pasig, and Valenzuela with 14, 11, and 6 respectively. /jpv

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