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.
