DOH: 35% Decline On Firecracker Injuries, Zero Deaths
DOH – The Department of Health (DOH) recently reported that there is a 35 percent decline in firework injuries this New Year.
The health department said in a press conference at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City that about 102 people were injured due to firecracker blasts from December 31 6 AM up to January 1 6 PM.
According to Philstar, the department’s Epidemiology Bureau recorded at about 164 people injured since it began surveillance of 50 hospitals on December 21.
Data from the department shows that the said 164 cases are 87 cases lower than the recorded 251 from December 21, 2018 to January 1, 2019. Hence, it is 71% lower than the average 403 cases from 2014 to 2018.
The data also shows that there were no confirms injuries from stray bullets and moreover, no deaths from firecrackers.
“We were able to reduce cases by as much as 35 percent. This is indeed a welcome development, but we will not stop until we achieve zero fireworks-related injuries,”
Based on the report, Health secretary Francisco Duque III noted that the reduction of firecracker related injuries was due to Executive Order No. 28 that was issued by President Duterte in 2017.
Duque further added that the department intends to build on the gains this year to ensure that the next holidays will be safer for every Filipino.
“We would like to think that EO 28 has had an impact. Last year, there was a relatively heavy downpour and because of that, we said many people did not use fireworks,”
He also emphasized the roles some local chief executives and the media played in warning the public against the dangers of firecrackers.
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