THE Department of Health (DOH) 7 reported 18 fireworks-related injuries between midnight of Dec. 16 and 11:59 p.m. of Dec. 31, 2020.
This constituted a drop of 111 percent from the 38 cases recorded in the same period in 2019.
Majority of the injuries involved residents from Lapu-Lapu City followed by Cebu City and Bohol with three cases each. Mandaue City and Cebu Province each had two cases, while Negros Oriental had one, excluding an 11-year-old boy who was hit in the stomach by a stray bullet in Sta. Catalina.
The DOH 7 said there were no reports of fireworks ingestion or deaths.
Half of the 18 fireworks-related injuries involved the hands, while the rest involved the eyes, head and other parts of the body.
Eleven of the cases happened on the street, four inside the home, two in unspecified areas and one in a designated area for fireworks activity.
Eight of the cases were victims of passive involvement.
In Mandaue City, the victims were identified as 26-year-old Danny Arranguez, a resident of Sitio Riles, Barangay Basak, and 30-year-old Marriane Cayron, a resident of Sitio Pacifica, Barangay Labogon.
Based on the report of the Basak Police Station, Arranguez was rushed to the hospital after hurting his left hand from a lighted fountain 20 minutes past midnight on Jan. 1, 2021. Doctors had recommended amputating his injured hand.
Cayron, for her part, suffered a second-degree burn in her right shoulder due to a lighted “kwetes.” She was sent home after receiving treatment in the hospital.
The Mandaue City Police Office also seized a Judas’ Belt worth P1,500 and 40 goodbye Philippines worth P300 each.
The City banned these firecrackers, based on the executive order issued by President Rodrigo Duterte in October 2017.
Despite the Firecracker-related incidents, Col. Jonathan Abella, MCPO director, said the New Year’s Eve celebration in the city was generally peaceful.
There were no reports of illegal discharge of firearms or petty crimes, he said.
Abella attributed this to the information drive his office and barangay officials conducted reminding the public to strictly follow health protocols and to adhere to the firecracker ban. (WBS, KFD)