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The Department of Health (DOH) said firecracker-related incidents from Dec. 21, 2020 to Jan. 1, 2021 have been significantly lower by at least 95 percent compared to the same period last year.
DOH surveillance reports noted that about 15 cases were reported in the main hospitals in central Luzon. Only in Pampanga there were around five accidents with firecrackers, but no victims were registered.
This is 95 percent lower compared to the same period last year, which recorded 296 cases. The DOH National Office attributed the important decrees to ongoing pandemic restrictions and due to efforts by local government units to ban the use of fireworks.
Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda had discouraged the use of fireworks in homes and only encouraged community fireworks and designated areas where fireworks would be used. Last year, Pampanga recorded 65 accidents related to firecrackers.
As of Saturday, DOH reported cases in Bulacan (seven), Nueva Ecija (two), Tarlac (one), while Aurora, Bataan, and Zambales have zero reported incidents.
One of the cases was reported to have had a finger amputated, while another suffered an eye injury. Illegal fireworks were reportedly not used until Saturday. There were also no deaths.
Among the most used fireworks among the injured are kwitis (8.53 percent), the fountain (2.13 percent) and the baby rocket (2.13 percent).
There are also no reported cases of ingestion of firecrackers or stray bullets, according to the latest report.
DOH previously launched its anti-fireworks campaign to minimize firecracker incidents during the holiday season.
According to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Franciso Duque III, the campaign aimed to create a new awareness of the people about the effects of firecrackers and fireworks on life and property and to encourage the public to use alternative noisemakers to prevent injuries.
In addition to public information campaigns, DOH also has an emergency room preparedness and response capacity program, in which all DOH hospitals were on alert, especially since December 24, 25 and 31. DOH also banned firecrackers from all of its facilities.
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