EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five biggest stories of the day.

1. #RESTRICTIONS: New powers giving gardaí powers to detain those who fail to abide by regulations aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 have come into effect.

2. #ESSEX: A lorry driver from Northern Ireland has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 39 people who were found dead in the back of a refrigerated truck in the UK last year.

3. #CLUSTERS: New figures provided by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show there are now 86 Covid-19 clusters in Irish nursing homes.

4. #WITHDRAWN: The government has confirmed that 19,000 people have closed their pandemic unemployment payment because they’re still employed.

5. #LIFTED: Chinese authorities have removed months-long restrictions in the city of Wuhan, where Covid-19 first emerged last year, after celebrating the country’s first day without coronavirus deaths.

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The 5 at 5 Five minutes, five stories, five o’clock.

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.