The Department of Health on Thursday said all hospitals in the country are now under white alert status ahead of New Year 2023 celebrations on Saturday and Sunday.

"The alert level in all hospitals now — and this is a specific instruction we do every year — is code white," Health Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.

"This means all are instructed to prepare, all are instructed to have a special team to address the concerns of those people going to hospitals with injuries related to firecrackers," Vergeire added.

Based on the latest data, DoH recorded a total of four new fireworks-related injuries within the last 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to 36.

The cumulative number of cases was 44 percent higher compared to the cases recorded last year, according to the agency.

Despite the increase, the figure remained lower than the five-year average cases of fireworks-related injuries during the same period.

Vergeire said a "whole of government approach" is needed to maintain or lessen the cases of fireworks-related injuries.

"First, we need to let the public know that the Department of Health is not the only one in this fight to prevent fireworks injuries," she said.

"This needs a whole-of-government approach. We need the regulation and implementation of the regulations," she added.