NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Cars line up at the Covid 19 testing facility centre at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin as the demand increases according to the HSE today. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

• Health officials this evening reported 1,754 more cases of Covid-19 in Ireland and said that more than 9,000 cases will be reported over the coming days. 
• The state-funded pre-school programme in which 100,000 children are enrolled will delay its resumption until 11 January.
• Health authorities said they are aiming for 25,000 vaccinations to be completed in the Republic of Ireland by the end of next week. 
• A baby boy born just after midnight is the first to be born in Ireland in 2021.
• Gardaí said that 15 people were socialising in a suspected shebeen near Kildare Town yesterday evening New year’s Eve. 
• There was a 6% increase in the number of people who died on Irish roads in 2020, but a 25% decrease in serious or minor injuries, according to provisional figures.
• Tributes were paid to a 60-year-old healthcare assistant at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin who passed away from Covid-19 on Christmas Eve.

THE WORLD 

Fireworks and drones illuminate the night sky over the The O2 in London as they form a light display as London's normal New Year's Eve fireworks display was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. PA PA

NEW YEARS: Crowds gathered in New Zealand and China for New Year celebrations but a muted town was struck elsewhere. 

PARTING SHOT 

Are you gatherin’ up the tears?

RTÉ’s omnipresent ever popular Reeling in the Years programme is set to return this year for new decade recap of the years 2010-2019.

The previous series of the show featured the years 2000-2009 and was broadcast in late 2010. It was therefore expected that the new series of the show would air 10 years later but it was not broadcast in 2020.

RTÉ previously confirmed that the show would return to look back on the 2010s but no airdate had been set.

The broadcaster has now confirmed that the that the new season is planned to air as part of the spring schedule in 2021.