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

1. #CORONAVIRUS:  126 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland last night, bringing the total number of cases to 683.  

2. #THE GAMBLER: Country music legend Kenny Rogers has passed away at the age of 81

3. #ITALY: An Italian brewer based in the centre of Lombardy, which was the first area in Italy to go into a ‘Red Zone’ lockdown, has advised Irish people that coronavirus isn’t just ‘the flu for the elderly’ – adding that people in their 40s are being hospitalised.

4. #UNPROVEN: President Donald Trump and the US government’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci publicly sparred over whether a malaria drug would work to treat people with Covid-19.

5. #VISAS: Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan announced last night that immigration permissions due to expire between 20 March and 20 May will be automatically extended for two months.

6. #CLARA: A teenage pedestrian has died following a collision involving a jeep in Clara, Co Offaly last night. 

7. #JOB CUTS: Celtic Media Group– which publishes titles such as the Meath Chronicle and the Anglo Celt – has said it will be temporarily cutting its workforce amid collapsing revenues due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

8. #FUNDRAISING: A theatre in Dublin has raised over €28k to help Irish artists who need financial help due to the coronavirus. 

9. #TESTING POSITIVE: One of Ireland’s 683 patients confirmed to have the Covid-19 virus has described his experience of being diagnosed and his time in self-isolation with his partner, who has also tested positive.