LAST UPDATE | 5 May 2020

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

1. #CHANGES: Ireland’s Covid-19 restrictions change slightly today – with those cocooning now allowed to leave the house under limited conditions. 

2. #HSE: Official guidelines on sexual activity and Covid-19 were prompted by a radio interview in which the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer said there was no expectation on the public to stop being “intimate” while travel restrictions remained in place.

3. #INTERVIEW: The level of secondary deaths occurring in the country during the Covid-19 crisis will be considered by the Cabinet every three weeks, Health Minister Simon Harris has said.

4. #WHO: The World Health Organization has said that Washington had provided no evidence to support “speculative” claims by the US president that the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab.

5. #BELFAST: Aer Lingus is to conduct a review after pictures emerged of an almost full flight with no apparent evidence of social distancing measures.

6. #MEET UP: The leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party will meet today to discuss the next steps of government formation. 

7. #NORTH: Michelle O’Neill has raised concerns about setting milestone dates in Northern Ireland’s coronavirus exit strategy.

8. #COVID-19: The National Public Health Emergency Team will meet this morning to discuss the latest situation in the battle against coronavirus. 

9. #JOBS: Tourism, food and retail sectors have all experienced the highest level of job losses because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.