Census operations have had to adjust due to the coronavirus

The appearance of the coronavirus in mid-March has required the U.S. Census Bureau to make adjustments, including suspending field operations and extending the deadline for responses, as it continues to work toward accurately counting all Americans in 2020.
 Census takers plan to conduct nationwide in-person followups for non-responders to make sure everyone is counted on May 13. The Census Bureau said it will closely follow guidance from public health authorities when conducting the field operation.
 “The key message right now for anyone with questions about how COVID-19 will affect the 2020 Census: It has never been easier to respond on your own, whether online, over the phone or by mail – all without having to meet a census taker,” census officials said.
 As of last week, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 46.2 percent of households have already responded to the 2020 census. The remaining 64 million households will receive a paper questionnaire in the mail by April 16. Responding to the census is required by law and answers are kept confidential.
 Households receiving the paper questionnaire can still respond online or by phone, or they can return it by mail in the enclosed envelope. They can choose to respond online at 2020census.gov in English or 12 other languages. The 2020 census deadline has been extended to Aug. 14 for responses.
 Those households responding to the census online should use the Census ID from the letter that was mailed out or provide their address. It takes about 10 minutes to answer the census questions online.
 The public should respond for the number of people living at that address as of April 1.
 In 2010 the Census Bureau had to hire 150,000 people to verify 100 percent of the addresses in the field. For the 2020 Census, the bureau will only have to hire about 40,000 employees around the nation to verify the remaining 35 percent of addresses.
 The 2020 Census officially starts counting people in January 2020 in remote Toksook Bay, Alaska. Following the count of people in remote Alaska, most households in the country received invitations to respond online, by phone or by mail in March.
 The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and informs how hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds are allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers for public services and infrastructure like hospitals, emergency response, schools and bridges over the next 10 years.