DOH Eastern Visayas notes 30% rise in firecracker-related injuries

TACLOBAN CITY, Jan. 6 (PNA) –Injuries from holiday revelry in Eastern Visayas posted a 30 percent increase this year as more people were hurt by igniting firecrackers and fireworks allowed by law.

Roderick Boyd Cerro, chief of the Department of Health (DOH) regional epidemiology and surveillance unit said number of cases has risen from 70 last year to 101 as of midnight of January 5.

Fingers of two children in this city were amputated. The two victims ignited lolo thunder and kwitis.

Unlike last year, there was no single victim of stray bullet. Most cases are minor blasts while some suffered eye injury.

Majority or 70 percent of cases were injured due to piccolo ignited by children below 11 years old. The youngest victims is one year old while the oldest is 62.

“Our concern was that more number of victims were injured by firecrackers and fireworks not banned by the government. It’s time to really check the quality of these products even if these are legal,” he said.

Of the 101 injuries, 37 were reported in Northern Samar, 26 in Eastern Samar, 25 in Leyte, 10 in Samar, and two in Biliran province.

“We believe that there were more victims in Northern Samar because power outages and other impacts of typhoon Nona disrupted our Iwas Paputok information drive. Disaster response has been the top priority,” Cerro said.

The government has launched its monitoring of Christmas and New Year revelries on December 16, 2015 and concluded on January 5, 2016. (PNA)
FPV/SARWELL Q. MENIANO

Eastern Visayas’ firecracker-related injuries climb to 79

TACLOBAN CITY, Jan. 2 (PNA) - Holiday revelries have injured at least 79 persons in Eastern Visayas as of Saturday, slightly higher than last year which made the anti-firecracker drive successful, according to the Department of Health (DOH)

Roderick Boyd Cerro, chief of the DOH regional epidemiology and surveillance unit, said all cases are minor blasts and there was no single victim of stray bullet.

Majority or 80 percent of cases were injured due to "piccolo" ignited by children below 11 years old.

“We still consider the 'Iwas Paputok' campaign successful since injuries this year were less serious than in the previous years,” he said.

Of the 79 injuries, 37 were reported in Northern Samar, 24 in Eastern Samar, 12 in Leyte, five in Samar, and one in Leyte.

The government has launched its monitoring of Christmas and New Year revelries on December 16, 2014 and will conclude on January 5, 2015. (PNA)
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Holiday revelries hurt six kids in typhoon-hit Northern Samar

TACLOBAN CITY, Dec. 26 (PNA) -- Christmas revelry has wounded six children in typhoon-hit Northern Samar, the only province in Eastern Visayas with reported firecracker-related injuries as of Saturday morning.

“We don’t know why all reported injuries are in Northern Samar. Our appeal to all victims is to immediately seek medical attention because firecracker injury victims are very prone to tetanus infection,” said Roderick Boyd Cerro, chief of the Department of Health regional epidemiology and surveillance unit.

Five of the six victims suffered blast injury after igniting piccolo.

A lone victim sustained an eye injury after using lantaka (bamboo cannon), a popular alternative to firecrackers.

Young victims are from the towns of Pambujan, Lope de Vega, Mondragon, Catarman and Laoang, all in Northern Samar, which was battered by typhoon "Nona" on Dec. 14.

The government has launched its monitoring of Christmas and New Year revelries on Dec. 16, 2015 and will conclude on Jan. 5, 2016.

Operation centers have been activated in different provinces to monitor firecracker-related injuries.

The DOH encouraged the public to stop exploding firecrackers, but instead use other noisemakers such as party horns, car horns and loud music to celebrate the holidays. (PNA)

LDV/SQM

Catbalogan City cites setbacks to achieve zero firecracker-related injuries

CATBALOGAN CITY, Dec. 26 (PNA) - The city government here has cited challenges in achieving zero firecracker-related injuries highly recommended by the Department of Health (DOH).

City Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said using firecrackers during Christmas and New Year festivities has become part of the country’s tradition.

“For the safety of the public we want to achieve zero-firecracker related injuries. The question now is how we can gradually ban this,” said Mayor Uy-Tan.

Although the city government always designate common firecracker areas, the local government has no capability to fully regulate firecrackers use.

Catbalogan allows selling firecrackers, but vendors must first comply all the requirements, including undergoing seminar for those who are planning to sell.

The mayor asked for the people in her city to avoid using illegal firecrackers and enjoy the happy and safe celebration with their families and love ones.

A week before Christmas, DOH Secretary Janette Garin announced the plan of her agency to give incentives to local government units with no firecracker related injuries this holiday season. (PNA)
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