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

1. #EDUCATION: All primary school children who have significant additional needs will return to the classroom next Thursday, RTÉ reports.

2. #COVID SURGE: Taoiseach Micheál Martin told Virgin Media News that, in hindsight, his Government wouldn’t have eased Covid-19 restrictions as much as they did in December. He also said St Patricks’ Day parades won’t take place this year.

3. #VACCINE: Despite what those online calculators tell you, it’s not possible right now to say exactly when you might get your vaccine

4. #US: Several House Republicans loyal to Donald Trump are under scrutiny for their role in potentially coordinating with the activists who helped plan the Capitol Hill riot.

5. #PROCUREMENT: The Irish Examiner reports that the HSE was aware of a number of red flags with an Irish media company’s deal to import ventilators from China, but proceeded with the contract as “clinical need outweighs the identified risks”.

6. #VACCINE PRIORITY: HSE boss Paul Reid has written to the Irish Prison Service to give his assurance that prison nurses will be vaccinated as frontline healthcare workers, TheJournal.ie understands.

7. #LEADER: Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party will elect a new leader today, in a key vote kicking off the race for Germany’s top job – Chancellor.

8. #COVID TRAVEL: From this morning, all passengers arriving into Ireland must provide a pre-departure negative or not detected Covid-19 PCR test result taken within 72 hours prior to arrival.

9. #HATE CRIME: Police have said they believe a fire at a building that houses the Belfast Multi-Cultural Association (BMCA) was a deliberate hate crime, the BBC reports.