With almost a dozen confirmed cases of the Covid-19 strain of Coronavirus confirmed in Scotland, we believe it is more important than ever that our readers have access to as much information as possible on the worldwide outbreak.
Researchers believe as many as 100,000 people may have contracted the virus globally, with more than a hundred of those in the UK alone.
READ MORE: What are the symptoms and how do I stay safe from Covid-19?
In a bid to keep readers informed on the latest Coronavirus news, The Herald has committed to lowering our paywall for all articles on the outbreak of the condition.
We see it as our duty to allow anyone, not just our subscribers, to stay up to date with the impact of the disease on Scottish life, as well as the wider global issues caused by the outbreak.
In addition to daily articles on confirmed positive tests, we will also run regular live blogs to track the condition in real time.
Henry Ainslie, assistant editor at the Herald, said: "The coronavirus outbreak is one of the most pressing issues affecting Scotland and the rest of the world at present, and it's vitally important the public is provided with as much information as possible from trusted sources.
"The Herald team, led by our award-winning health correspondent Helen McArdle, is working extremely hard to provide the latest news and updates on the virus across all sections - health, politics and business - and we believe that content should be available as freely as possible to our readers and the wider public."
He added: "For that reason, all content related to the outbreak of Covid 19 will be free to access at HeraldScotland.com. We have also created a special section on our homepage for ease of access to coronavirus content, as well as live daily coverage."
READ MORE: How self-isolation can affect your rights and pay at work
Our special Coronavirus section on heraldscotland.com will contain all of our subscription-free coverage, including guides on the big topics surrounding the outbreak, including self-isolation and hygiene protocols.
You can find the section here and subscribe to our daily Coronavirus newsletter, delivered directly to your inbox every day at 6pm here.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
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