Health ministry reports injuries caused by firecrackers during holidays total 236

Looks like the Philippines started the new year safely as the number of firecracker-related injuries decreased dramatically.

The Department of Health (DOH) today announced that a total of 236 people were injured by firecrackers between Dec. 21 and Jan. 2.

ABS-CBN reported that 180 of them suffered from burns from pyrotechnics, 61 had eye injuries, eight had to undergo amputations, and two accidentally swallowed firecrackers. While the number is in the hundreds, the DOH said that it was still 52 percent lower compared to the same period in 2018.

The number of incidents was also 71 percent lower than the five-year average during the same period in 2018, Rappler reported.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III attributed the lower number of injuries to President Rodrigo Duterte’s signing of Executive Order (EO) 28, which prohibited individuals from using firecrackers or creating their own fireworks displays, reported GMA News.

He said that the drop was also caused by the heavy rains brought in Luzon and Visayas by typhoon Usman.

Said Duque: “Nature this time took the side of the DOH, which means that it has been raining the past several days unrelentingly and I think this also contributed to a substantive reduction in fireworks-related injuries.”

Firecracker-related injuries are very common during the holidays in the Philippines, where people believe that lighting firecrackers and making loud noises drive away negative spirits on New Year’s Eve.

Some victims even end up having their fingers amputated or their eyes blinded when a firecracker they’re holding suddenly blows up. Poisoning used to be very common among children who swallow firecrackers which they mistake for candy.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reported that air pollution during the start of the year went down. The DENR said that the level of “particulate matter,” which is harmful to people’s health, was lower, reported ABS-CBN.

On Taft Ave. in Manila, for example, 183 micrograms per cubic meter of particulate matter was recorded, which was lower than the 448 recorded in the same period last year.

In Parañaque and Navotas, 73 and 71 micrograms per cubic meter of particulate matter were recorded respectively, significantly lower than the 433 and 454 in 2017.

Jerry Capulong, the officer-in-charge of DENR’s air quality management section, attributed the lower rate to the government’s drive to discourage firecracker use to mark the arrival of the new year.