New Year-related injuries climb to 585

MANILA, Philippines — At least 585 injuries related to the New Year revelry have been recorded by the Department of Health (DOH) as of yesterday.

“There are 585 injuries overall – with 581 due to fireworks, one due to watusi ingestion, and three stray bullet injuries (SBI),” the latest Fireworks-Related Injuries (FWRI) of the DOH said.

More than half of the cases are from the National Capital Region or NCR (311 or 54 percent) followed by the Ilocos region (58 cases or 10 percent), Calabarzon (47 or eight percent) and Central Luzon (42 or seven percent).

Ninety-six percent of injuries happened at home and in the streets, mostly to males with active involvement.

The top ranking identified fireworks that cause a majority (64 percent) of FWRIs, in descending order, are kwitis, 5-star, whistle bomb, pla-pla, boga, luces and fountain.
Illegal fireworks (5-star, pla-pla, boga) are to blame for just four out of every ten cases (220 or 38 percent), with legal fireworks causing more injuries.

Included in DOH’s latest count of FWRI are the 28 new cases recorded from 6 a.m. of Jan. 3 to 5:59 a.m. of Jan. 4.

The DOH said there are two more confirmed SBIs in addition to the one case recorded last Tuesday.
One SBI case is a 28-year-old male from NCR who suffered a fracture in his second toe of the left foot. The other is a 60-year-old male from Cordillera Administrative Region who suffered a fracture in his left collar bone.

The DOH said close coordination is ongoing between DOH and the Philippine National Police for all reports of SBIs.

The 28 new cases were mostly injuries due to fireworks (26) except for the two new SBIs. The new cases range from 6 to 62 years old with nearly nine out of ten (23 or 88 percent) cases being males.
Almost all (25 or 96 percent) of these new cases occurred at home and in the streets. The majority (13 or 52 percent) of cases were due to legal fireworks. There were nine persons hospitalized due to their injuries.
“Let us be reminded that injuries and deaths from stray bullets and ‘accidents’ due to intoxication are avoidable. Guns, fireworks, and liquor should not mix,” said the DOH.
“Law enforcement, local leaders, and communities must work