There was some positivity among medics in this evening's statement to the press on the latest coronavirus cases and deaths.
Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, said tonight that health officials are "cautiously optimistic about the epidemiological situation across the country".
A further 866 cases were confirmed today, with another 52 deaths.
It marked another day with case numbers totalling under a thousand, which have been few since the Christmas explosion in figures.
Dr Glynn said the "positive momentum" of the last few weeks "has been achieved through the dedication of people across the country".
But he warned that incidence and mortality rates are "still very high, and the significant risk of community transmission of the virus remains, especially for those most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection".
He added: "It is of vital importance that people continue to stay at home and to work from home where at all possible."
Meanwhile, on another somewhat positive note, Professor Karina Butler, Chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee said: “As of this week, we have administered 242,353 doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
"This is a wonderful achievement and I want to thank all our vaccine administration teams for their dedication and hard work.
"We hope that as our vaccination numbers go up, we can offer more protection those who are vaccinated and ultimately the wider population."
However, she added: "But, until that time, all of us, including those of us who have received our Covid-19 vaccines, must maintain our adherence to all of the other public health measures like washing our hands and social distancing."
Sounding another positive note, Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: "In the last week, the HSE has begun to test close contacts of confirmed cases.
"This is a positive move as it clearly shows that we are back in the containment phase of this pandemic."
But he also had a warning for the public, as he said "positivity rates among household contacts is quite high, close to 30%".
Prof Nolan explained: "This is a timely reminder to us all to immediately isolate ourselves if we have any symptoms, to protect those most important to us.
"We should also continue to limit our social contacts. Do not visit another person’s household unless you are providing essential care."
And Dr Lorraine Doherty, National Clinical Director of Health Protection at the HSE - Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), said: “The Covid-19 'find-test-trace-isolate' process is vital to our efforts.
"We all need to contact our GP as soon as symptoms occur, to go for a test, trace our contacts if our test is positive and prevent further infections.
"It is important to remember that everyone can access testing free of charge.
"Testing and contact tracing are vital to our ongoing collective efforts to minimise the spread of Covid-19."
