After firecracker ban
Hospitals expect many New Year’s injuries again
Fireworks rockets explode on New Year’s Eve 2018/19 in Munich. After a two-year ban on firecrackers, fireworks can be sold again this year.
© Matthias Balk / DPA
A pandemic-related firecracker ban applied in Germany for two years. Fireworks can be sold again this year. Clinics fear many injuries – even though the situation in the hospitals is already tense.
After two years with pandemic-related bans on the sale of fireworks, Germany’s hospitals are now expecting a normal New Year’s Eve again – in other words: a high burden on the clinics due to injuries.
“We have to assume that the hospitals and their emergency rooms will be as heavily burdened with fireworks injuries on New Year’s Eve as they were in the years before the pandemic,” said the CEO of the German Hospital Association (DKG), Gerald Gaß, the editorial network Germany (RND ).
After firecracker ban: clinics expect more injuries on New Year’s Eve
“On New Year’s Eve of the 2020/21 ban on firecrackers, the hospitals counted two-thirds fewer seriously injured fireworks in the wards. Similarly, the emergency rooms were noticeably relieved,” said Gass. The return of normal celebrations at the turn of the year 2022/23 with firecrackers is now encountering “the continuing tense situation of frequent respiratory diseases and staff absences due to sick employees”.
Gass emphasized that the DKG was against a general ban on fireworks, but appealed to use rockets and firecrackers responsibly and carefully. “That can already help the hospitals and their employees.”