The number of firecracker-related injuries rose to 231 with 116 happening on New Year's Eve, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

In a press conference, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said: ''This number could rise higher because sometimes the reports of our sentinel sites or hospitals are delayed.”

The figure is higher than 2023 because health restrictions due to COVID-19, which were in place from 2020 to 2023 are no longer in place, said Herbosa,

Herbosa said it was '' saddening to see that there are still many people getting injured although we think our campaign has been good.”

Data from the DOH also showed that 56 percent of the incidents were due to legal fireworks.

Herbosa said the average age of those injured by firecrackers was 20 years old. The youngest victim was an 11-month-old baby from the National Capital Region (NCR) whose face and right eye were burned by an illegal firecracker lit by someone in the street.

He said 71 percent of the victims were male and a majority of the incidents happened at their homes.

Among the 231 injured, most were from Metro Manila at 49 percent or 113.

The DOH said three more cases of amputation have been added making the total at 11. Jaspearl Tan/DMS