TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan- The number of firecracker-related injuries in the region decreased by 55 cases for the period December 21, 2016 to January 2, 2017, or 50 percent lower compared to the 110 cases for the same period last year.
Carissa Pagulayan, coordinator of the Department of Health – Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (DOH-RESU), said most of the victims were children and adolescents in which ‘picollo’, a prohibited firecracker, remains to be the highest cause of the injuries.
“We observed that though there is a decrease in the number of firecracker-related injuries this year, there are still prohibited firecrackers that were sold in the market,” Pagulayan said.
She said Cagayan has the highest percentage of recorded cases with 39, followed by Isabela with 30 while Batanes remains to have a zero firecracker-related injury case.
As to stray bullet, Pagulayan clarified that there were two initially reported cases in the RESU but the case in this province was already eliminated because it was established that the injury was not a gunshot wound.
She said the stray bullet case recorded in Nueva Vizcaya is still under validation as there were reports that the gunshot was intentional.
Though the reporting time will continue up to January 5, DOH is hopeful that the reported cases will not significantly increase this year.
She added that the agency targets to implement a total firecracker ban this year. PIA
