The Provincial Health Office (PHO) recorded two additional fireworks-related injuries (FWRIs) on New Year’s Day, bringing the number of victims to four in Palawan.
The first two cases were recorded on the first week of December in Cuyo involving two minors while the additional two were reported at the Ospital ng Palawan (ONP) on January 1, 2019.
Jabbar A. Sultan, ONP supervising nurse and injury surveillance coordinator, said Thursday to Palawan News that the additional two FWRI victims were both males.
The first victim was a male between 21-25 years old who was rushed to the ONP at around 1 a.m. because of an injured left thumb due to lighting a skyrocket.
The next FWRI case was a boy between 6-10 years old who suffered first- and second-degree burns on his face when he accidentally ignited fireworks powder, Sultan said.
Sultan said though Palawan did not achieve its “zero injuries” goal, the cases are “still” relatively low compared to the previous years with the exception of 2017 where one injury caused by a plastic hornpipe/trumpet or “torotot” was recorded.
He said this is attributed to the government’s active campaign against the rampant use of prohibited fireworks and pyrotechnic devices during the New Year.
“Big factor ‘yong panawagan ng government na ipagbawal ang paputok and manood na lang ng community fireworks displays handled by experts sa success (The government’s move to ban many dangerous fireworks and strong campaign for residents to actively watch community fireworks handled by experts are big factors in the success),” Sultan pointed out.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mary Ann Navarro, chief of the Palawan Provincial Health Office (PHO), said they are thankful cases are no longer high like the previous years.
“Thankful tayo na mababa pa rin ang FWRIs (We are thankful that the FWRIs are still low),” Navarro said.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) said there is a significant drop in FWRIs this year in the country with only 139 cases recorded from December 28, 2018 and January 1, 2019.
The figure represents a 68 percent decrease compared to 2017’s cases of 428.
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