NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Brian Cunningham dives into the sea at the Vico bathing place, Hawk Cliff, in Dalkey, Co Dublin PA PA

• Six deaths and 411 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Ireland. Here are the key point’s from today’s NPHET briefing. 
• Seven new walk-in Covid-19 testing centres for asymptomatic people will be set up at various locations around Ireland this week.
• Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service is to review its decision not to recommend the prosecution of any individuals for alleged breaches of Covid-19 regulations following the funeral of senior republican Bobby Storey in west Belfast last June. 
• The Taoiseach said that the Covid-19 vaccine taskforce envisages having a national portal up and running for vaccine appointments for the general public by the third week of April. 
• Children’s shoes are to be added to the essential retail list.
• Some transgender people are facing a five-year waiting list for healthcare, according to the Transgender Equality Network Ireland.
• Covid-19 cases have plateaued at a high level and could increase to 2,000 per day within four weeks, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) warned the government.
• Irish journalist Yvonne Murray, who regularly reports for RTÉ News, said she and her family were forced to leave China after facing legal threats and pressure from Chinese authorities.
• The Green Parliamentary Party passed a motion calling for Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu to step aside as party chair during the upcoming Seanad by-election. 

THE WORLD 

Members of the public during the warm weather at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England today. PA PA

#VACCINE: Experts examining links between the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and blood clots have found no specific risk factors, including age, but are carrying out further analysis.

#POISONED: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said he is going on hunger strike until he receives proper medical treatment for severe back pain and numbness in his legs. 

PARTING SHOT

Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility. 

Our columnist Aoife Martin has written about the importance of this day, and her complicated relationship with it. 

You can read the full piece here. Here’s a sample of it. 

Whether people like it or not, trans people exist in society and have done so since the first organism crawled out of the primordial soup onto land and thought, hey, this solid ground thing beneath my feet seems like a good idea. Well, maybe not as early as that, but you get my drift.

Trans people exist and, therefore, trans kids exist and it’s important that those kids see positive representation. It’s important that they know that that there are trans people are out there living their lives and contributing to society in the same way that cisgender people do.

It’s important because it tells them that they are not alone, that they are not the only ones who feel the way they do and that, someday, it will get better. But it’s also important for the rest of society to see us too. The more trans people we see around us every day the less remarkable and remarked upon, it becomes.

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