EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #CORONAVIRUS: A further 25 have died from Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health confirmed last night. An additional 343 cases of coronavirus have also been confirmed here, bringing the total number of cases to 21,176.

2. #PROTECTION PAYMENT: Dublin City Council staff have been told to “immediately” report any incidents of intimidation or threatening behaviour after allegations that protection money was paid to known criminals last year. 

3. #LOUTH: Two men in their 20s have been arrested in connection with an aggravated burglary in Dundalk, Co Louth in the early hours of this morning. 

4. #SERVICE CUT: Some respite care services have been cancelled amid the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving vulnerable people and their families without much-needed services.

5. #SHOTS FIRED: North Korea fired gunshots towards the South in the demilitarized zone dividing the peninsula today, prompting South Korean troops to fire back, Seoul’s military said. 

6. #INSURANCE CLAIMS: Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has asked his officials to examine the issues around liability and insurability of claims made as a result of contracting Covid-19 while on a business premises.

7. #DIALYSIS: Covid-19 is hitting patients’ kidneys, not their lungs. Irish authorities were ahead of the curve and got extra kidney treatment equipment and supplies after the disease outbreak in northern Italy.

8. #ARTANE: A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with the assault of a man at an apartment complex in Artane, north Dublin last night. 

9. #COCOONING: Health Minister Simon Harris has said that those aged over 70s are “a resilient generation”, adding that he is aware the impact of cocooning is having on their lives.