DOH: 28 more hurt due to fireworks, stray bullets

Twenty-eight more individuals were reported injured due to fireworks and stray bullets, pushing the total caseload to 585, the Department of Health’s (DOH) latest data showed Thursday.

Of these new cases logged from 6 a.m. of January 3 to 5:59 a.m. of January 4, 26 injuries were caused by fireworks and two by stray bullets.

One of the recently confirmed stray bullet injuries was a case of a 28-year-old male from the National Capital Region (NCR) who suffered a fracture in the second toe of his left foot.

The other case was of a 60-year-old male from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) who had a fracture in his left collar bone.

The ages of the new cases ranged from 6 to 62, with a median age of 23. Most of them (23 cases) were male.

Twenty-five incidents also happened at home and along the streets, many of which involved legal fireworks (13 cases).

Nine of these new cases were hospitalized due to their injuries.

A total of 585 injuries have been recorded days after the New Year revelry, including 581 due to fireworks, one due to “watusi” ingestion, and three due to stray bullets.

The NCR still registered most of these cases at 311. Next was the Ilocos Region with 58 cases, Calabarzon with 47 cases, and Central Luzon with 42 cases.

The fireworks that caused most injuries were kwitis, 5-star, whistle bomb, pla-pla, boga, luces, and fountain.

Access to fireworks was higher this surveillance year (2023) because it was the first Yuletide celebration after the lifting of the state of public health emergency due to COVID-19, the DOH said. — VBL, GMA Integrated News