''What the community and public have done has been incredibly helpful''.
Ireland could still see as big an increase in coronavirus cases as Spain or Italy, according to an infectious diseases expert.
The current restrictions are likely to be extended this afternoon, after the country's top health officials meet.
The Health Minister says the growth rate of the virus has slowed to 9%, but expects the measures to continue for a few weeks.
Consultant in infectious diseases in Cork University Hospital, Mary Horgan, says it's too early to become complacent.
''What the community and public have done has been incredibly helpful in us being able to manage the numbers in hospitals, she said.
''We haven't seen the huge increase that they had in Italy and Spain or in the UK, but that can happen still''.
263 people have died from the virus since the outbreak began in Ireland, while there are currently 6,574 confirmed cases.
