Skip the fireworks for this year: Inquirer

Public health and safety have been the overriding reason for the severe restrictions these past year and a half, and all those efforts and sacrifices may end up for naught for a night of revelry. - Reuters

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network): Every year, people spend a small fortune lighting up firecrackers on New Year's Eve in the belief that this would chase evil spirits away from the incoming year.

With 2021 seeing shattered lives and a shaky economy due to the onslaught of severe typhoons and the seemingly unshakeable grip of Covid-19, people are bound to light even more fireworks in fervid hopes of a better year ahead.