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Grand Jury Releases Report On San Joaquin County's 'Fragmented' COVID Response

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13) – A scathing report was released on San Joaquin County's response to COVID-19.

A civil grand jury released its findings on how county departments handled the pandemic in curbing the spread.

The report, titled A Fragmented COVID-19 Response, cites poor communication, a lack of leadership, plus organizational and policy failures. Some of the key problems highlighted in the report were departments not working together effectively, poor communication delaying the process of stopping the spread, and a lack of designated leadership and adequate training.

The county said the departments named have a copy of the grand jury report and they're reviewing it. It released a statement reading, in part:

"We take this investigation seriously and endeavor to provide the best service to the community and our partners at all times."

All of this is raising questions as to whether the county could have stopped the spread sooner and prevented some of the deaths.

The departments will now bring their responses to the report to the board of supervisors before submitting them to the grand jury.

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