LAST UPDATE | 5 Jan 2021

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

1. #TALKS: The Cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19 will meet today to discuss a proposal to close schools across the country for the entire month of January.

2. #STORMONT: Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster has confirmed that schools in the North will remain closed and remote learning will be extended for an unspecified period. 

3. #UK: Meanwhile, Boris Johnson last night ordered a new national lockdown for England, which means people will only be able to leave their homes for limited reasons. Measures are expected to remain in place until mid-February.

4. #US: Joe Biden and US president Donald Trump have both campaigned in the state of Georgia overnight, ahead of a crucial runoff vote today that will decide which party controls the country’s Senate.

5. #COVID-19: A record 6,110 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by the National Public Health Emergency Team last night, with 73 patients in ICU and 744 patients in hospital.

6. #MATERNITY: Letters seen by TheJournal.ie show that nearly 200 new or expecting parents wrote to the Minister of Health appealing for restrictions at maternity hospitals to be lifted between August and October last year.

7. #HOUSE PRICES: A new survey has found that national house price inflation has surged to more than 6%, the fastest pace in almost three years.

8. #WEATHER: AA Roadwatch is reporting icy roads this morning, with frost expected to clear slowly and persist in some parts. Met Éireann also reports that tonight will be the coldest night of the winter so far.

9. #NEWCASTLE WEST: A private nursing home in Co Limerick has said it is managing a severe outbreak of Covid-19 after it was reported that eight of its residents who tested positive for the virus had died over the past two weeks.