Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said next week should mark the final week of the recent peak in cases, as trends predict rates will fall again.
Covid infection has been rife in the community as the highly transmissible BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron cause havoc among the vulnerable.
While most people reporting infections are now experiencing mainly mild symptoms, the number of people in hospital as of 8 am today has increased by one to 905.
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Meanwhile, 35 people are in intensive care units being treated for the most severe effects of the virus - marking a decrease of one from yesterday.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Colm Henry said the Omicron variant has a "growth advantage over previous variants.”
He explained: "These new sub-variants have an additional growth advantage, so it is displacing previous variants and certainly may be more transmissible, may be able to evade immunity but not causing as much serious illness perhaps in the sense of intensive care units.”
Speaking about the incoming dip in numbers, Dr Henry said: "We are in week four or five of a six-week plateau, after which we expect the case numbers to fall in the community - but a lag time before that begins to see relief in the hospital."
Dr Henry said that the only way to contain the virus is for the public to take responsibility for themselves and their movements during the peak, and to continue to follow public health advice.
He said: "Anybody who is sick, who is feeling symptoms should isolate and remain isolated until at least 48 hours after the symptoms resolve.”
The CCO also highlights that more than half of those in hospitals nationwide with the virus have not received their booster.
Meanwhile, "A third of people testing positive in hospitals haven't even received their primary vaccination course,” and just over half of the 730,000 people who have been offered a second booster dose have come forward for it.
"Perhaps the same fear factor isn't there. There is a sense that this has gone away.
“But we do know that the vaccine wanes particularly in those groups for whom this additional booster is recommended. That is to say, older people and those with underlying health conditions," he said.
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