LAST UPDATE | 18 Mar 2020

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

1. #DEBUNKED: A message being shared widely on WhatsApp and other social media platforms which claims that holding your breath for more than 10 seconds is an effective test for Covid-19 is not true. 

2. #DOCTORS: GPs will now facilitate people who are not normally registered with a practice if they develop Covid-19 symptoms. 

3. #DEMOCRATS: Joe Biden has swept to victory in Florida, Illinois and Arizona in the Democratic presidential primaries. 

4. #TRINITY: Students who’ve been told to vacate their student accommodation at Trinity College Dublin will be refunded for the period they don’t actually stay there.

5. #BANKS: The CEOs of five banks are to meet with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to discuss a joint plan to provide support to customers affected by the fallout of Covid-19, RTE has reported. 

6. #VARADKAR: In an address to the nation last night, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said “we’re in the middle of a global and national emergency, a pandemic, the likes of which none of us have seen before”.

7. #VACCINATION: As cases of Covid-19 continue to rise in Ireland and in most countries across the world, the hunt for antiviral drugs and other treatment methods is accelerating. 

8. #CANNABIS: A single dose of THC – the main psychoactive component in cannabis – can induce a range of psychiatric symptoms, according to a new study.

9. #NORTHERN IRELAND: The British government has pledged to “end the cycle of re-investigations” in a set of proposals to deal with the North’s troubled past.