A civil grand jury report released last month evaluated Marin County’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and praised the county’s infection, hospitalization and vaccination rates as better than most other counties in the nation. But it also described a lack of training and confusion about the chain of command within the county’s Office of Emergency Services and criticized the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s response to a preventable outbreak at San Quentin State Prison. The outbreak raised questions about the county’s relationship to the prison, the jury wrote. “This outbreak and its tragic consequences could have been avoided if the staff at San Quentin had accepted the early advice of county public health officials in the community where it operates,” the report states. “Understanding how this disconnect can be avoided in the future should be an important topic for a comprehensive post-pandemic review.” The jury described how the state corrections department transferred 122 inmates from another prison to San Quentin, leading to the infection of 1,300 inmates and 28 deaths. The county health department said the number of hospitalizations from San Quentin “stressed local hospital capacity.” Additionally, a preliminary assessment by Tetra Tech Inc., a consulting and engineering firm commissioned by the grand jury showed how the pandemic exposed a lack of training and confusion about the chain of command at the Office of Emergency Services, the agency responsible for coordinating responses from public agencies to address emergencies. The office has a broad scope of responsibilities, including natural disasters, law enforcement and public health. District 4 Supervisor Dennis Rodoni said there is not a clear hierarchy between the departments involved in a response, and the pandemic was the first emergency in which Marin’s public health officers were required to take the lead in decision-making. Under the current structure, the O.E.S. reports to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. The jury’s report suggested moving the agency under the Board of Supervisors, which would require it to report to the board or the county administrator rather than the sheriff. O.E.S. and the public could benefit from this change in structure because the agency’s scope extends beyond law enforcement and supervisors are ultimately responsible for public health and safety, the jury wrote. The May report called for a formal review to determine the most efficient organizational structure of the O.E.S.; that internal review process is underway and a preliminary report will be issued this month for public review. “We all realize that dealing with a pandemic is not something we are used to doing,” Supervisor Rodoni said. “One thing I do see in this report is making sure that we memorialize this event and how we responded and what we could have done better so that we don’t start over if we have another event like this.” The Covid-19 pandemic is far from over. Marin cases have been on the rise since March, and 275 new cases and two new hospitalizations were reported since June 10. With Marin’s high vaccination rate, fewer cases are leading to hospitalization and death, and officials now look to hospitalization rates rather than daily case rates as a guide for pandemic response. The local mask mandate remains lifted, though statewide mandates are still in effect.