Trust us when we say it gives us no joy to crush your hopes, but Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a tweet that Malaysia may be able to flatten the curve in three to four months.

However, it will not be an easy task. It'll take a combination of public health measures and an accelerated vaccination drive to achieve.

30 Mei - Lekuk jangkitan COVID-19 boleh dilandaikan dalam tempoh 3 hingga 4 bulan akan datanghttps://t.co/GUFva1GEzr@DrAdhamBaba @DGHisham @MKNJPM @KKMPutrajaya'Yang sahih di Berita RTM'#RTM #RTM75 #TerusUnggul #BeritaRTM #COVID19Malaysia #PKP #KitaJagaKita pic.twitter.com/rqhv1q6x48

— Berita RTM (@beritartm) May 30, 2021

A long road ahead

Dr Noor Hisham said that our behaviour is the first line of defence against the increasing number of COVID-19 positive cases.

“Our behaviour is the first line of defence and if we can increase vaccination rates, that will increase our protection against the virus.

“We have to use the strategy of combining public health measures and increasing vaccination rates, and with this, we may be able to flatten the curve in three to four months," he said.

He also said that Malaysia will have to ramp up vaccinations and be able to dispense over 10 million doses in June.

Jumlah terkini pemberian vaksin dos 1 dan dos 2.Daftar untuk vaksinasi sekarang: https://t.co/m1joWOB4OE#LindungDiriLindungSemua pic.twitter.com/KQ1PleSsZm

— Vaksin COVID-19 ?? (@JKJAVMY) May 31, 2021

As of 30 May 2021, Malaysia has sucessfully administered 2,913,009 doses of vaccines, out of which 1,860,864 people have received their first doses and 1,052,145 people have received two doses.

Over 12 million people have registered for vaccination so far, which is close to 50 per cent of the targeted number.

These numbers are expected to increase in the near future.

Healthcare system overwhelmed

But that's more of a long-term thing.

Currently, the healthcare system is overloaded and it is important for each and every one of us to play our parts to flatten the curve.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, ICU beds for COVID-19 patents is now at 104 per cent capacity. There are 1,113 beds in use, and COVID-19 hospital beds have reached 85 per cent capacity with 10,190 patients hospitalised currently.

The beds at COVID-19 quarantine and treatment centres are at 65 per cent capacity, with 27,183 beds occupied. Ventilators are at 60 per cent capacity with 2,138 usage, of which 39 per cent are for COVID-19.

Not only is the number of COVID-19 cases have been constantly high lately, but the number of deaths have also been high.