China's capital Beijing will protect whistleblowers who disclose information about public health emergencies, it said on Sunday, part of the country's efforts to fix some of the systemic faults that hindered its initial response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Beijing city government said it would offer rewards to health workers who disclose vital information about any imminent health emergency, and will also ensure their safety and legal rights are protected.
Workers could in urgent situations skip the chain of command and report health risks directly to the local government, it said, and as long as their intent was not "malicious," they would not face punishment if information turned out to be false.