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

1. #HAPPY NEW YEAR: It’s the first day of 2021, but most countries struck a muted tone in celebrations overnight.

2. #GOT BREXIT DONE: Businesses in the United Kingdom face new challenges from today as the country has now formally left the European Union.

3. #THIRD WAVE: Thousands more cases of Covid-19 are expected to be announced over the coming days as a backlog is cleared, RTÉ News reports. An estimated 4,000 cases are yet to be officially confirmed.

4. #CORONAVIRUS: Close contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 are no longer being advised to get tested for the coronavirus due to current widespread levels of infection, the HSE has said. 

5. #PEACEKEEPING: Ireland has taken its seat on the UN Security Council. The Taoiseach described the role as an ‘enormous responsibility‘.

6. #DANIEL DUMILE: Rapper MF Doom has died, aged 49. BBC News reports that the influential star passed away two months ago.

7. #BOOKWORMS: Dublin City Council pressing ahead with plans for the Parnell City Library with a project manager set to be in place by January.

8. #SCHOOLS: The leaders of eight areas of London are calling for a decision to reopen schools to be reversed, Sky News reports.

9. #GOODBYE 2020: We were stressed almost as much as we were happy last year, surveys of public sentiment on the pandemic revealed.