Dr Ronan Glynn says 'public buy-in' to health guidance is the main defence against the spread of the virus.
He says people shouldn't even meet family members, or go to work or college, if they're a close contact of a case.
Another 363 coronavirus infections were confirmed yesterday including 40 in Cork, and one more death.
Dr Tomás Ryan, an associate professor of immunology at Trinity College, says more deaths are inevitable:
