Census Bureau revises 2020 collection deadlines over coronavirus
The U.S. Census logo appears on census materials received in the mail with an invitation to fill out census information online on March 19 in San Anselmo, Calif. Credit: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
The U.S. Census Bureau is revising some deadlines for collection of 2020 Census information from households and other living spaces across the nation — adding to a decision earlier this week when officials said they were suspending field work until April 1 — as the coronavirus causes massive disruptions, officials said Friday.
Census officials, during a national news conference by phone, said that by Friday every mailbox in the country should have received a 2020 Census "invitation," marking the kickoff of the bureau's once-a-decade-count of the nation's population mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
So far, 18.6 million households have responded to the census — which can be done online, by phone or by mail — said Al Fontenot Jr., associate director of the bureau's decennial programs.
The bureau also extended the time for its response follow-up operation, where census takers go to addresses that have not answered. That was scheduled to end July 31, and has been pushed back to Aug. 14, said Tim Olson, associate director for field operations.
There are also new deadlines to count homeless people, college students, people in nursing homes and others.
Government mandates, such as in New York and California, calling for businesses to shutter and urging people to stay home, has meant adjustments.
"Our staff has been in touch with state government in New York and California to discuss what we can do under their current guidelines. We are classified in many places as the same type of critical services postal carriers have," Fontenot said. But the safety of census staff, temporary workers and the public was paramount, he and others stressed. He urged residents to respond online. Olson added that census workers in regional offices in places like New York are "working from home."
The bureau’s map, showing the self-response rate for the 2020 Census, so far was 12.2% for New York State, and 12.3% for both Nassau and Suffolk counties. The national rate was 14.1%.
The revised dates are being “evaluated on daily basis, in light of local conditions, and there could be further change,” Olson said.
