15 more hurt due to fireworks, stray bullets; total now at 600

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said 15 more individuals were reported injured due to fireworks and stray bullets, bringing the nationwide count to 600 victims.

In an advisory, the DOH said that among all the patients across the country, 592 were hurt due to fireworks, one due to watusi ingestion, and seven were hit by stray bullets.

As for the new cases, the DOH said four of these were confirmed stray bullet injuries (SBIs), and the other 11 were firework-related injuries (FWRIs).

It added that one person, a previously recorded injured man from Ilocos Region, already died. The victim is a 44-year-old male who suffered injuries in a blasting incident.

The 11 new FWRI cases range from 4 to 72 years old (median age: 29), with eight out of ten (82%) cases being males. Almost all (91%) of the new cases occurred at home and in the streets.

The DOH said that majority of the cases were due to illegal fireworks.

Access to fireworks was higher this surveillance year (2023) as Filipinos celebrated the first Yuletide since the lifting of the state of public health emergency due to COVID-19, the DOH said. — VDV, GMA Integrated News