New Year revelry leaves significant rise in injuries

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has reported a significant increase in the number of firecracker-related incidents during the New Year’s Eve celebration.

- MARK ERNEST VILLEZA

Col. Jean Fajardo, PNP public information chief, said in a phone interview with reporters yesterday that a total of 509 cases were reported on the first day of 2024.

“This number is expected to rise as additional reports from hospitals are processed,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

The PNP report is higher than the 231 cases of fireworksrelated injuries (FWRI) reported by the Department of Health as of 5:59 a.m. yesterday, although Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said the DOH figure might also go up.

“It is possible that the number of (FWRI) cases would still go up since there could be a delay in reporting from some of our sentinel sites and hospitals. But I can tell you, the number is higher than last year,” Herbosa said in an online briefing yesterday morning.

He also said that the 231 cases included the youngest, an 11-month-old boy, and the oldest, a 76-year-old man. “It is the first New Year without any restrictions on movement due to the pandemic, wherein only community fireworks displays were allowed. This time, people started using firecrackers again. So the cases went up,” Herbosa pointed out.