Changes coming to census as officials limit face-to-face contact in midst of coronavirus

Census officials are limiting face-to-face contact with people residing in nursing homes and those who utilize soup kitchens and shelters as the coronavirus continues to spread.

In an effort to keep the public safe while obtaining a complete count, census officials are asking nursing home administrators to help residents reply to the once-a-decade survey online or by submitting paper forms.

Typically, help from census employees can be requested to aid in filling out the form, but officials are hoping to limit contact with residents over 60 or those with underlying conditions because they are at a higher risk of contracting the virus.

Similar precautions are being taken at emergency and transitional shelters and soup kitchens. Census officials originally planned on interviewing each person who was served a meal or staying at a facility between March 30 and April 1. Now, those who work at the facilities are asked to provide a paper listing of census response data for each person.

While the focus is on group housing like nursing homes, prisons and college dorms, all members of the public are encouraged to self-respond to the census online or through a paper form, limiting the necessity of census workers knocking on individual doors. If the census doesn’t get a response, workers can visit a home up to six times.

This is also the first year people can respond to the once-a-decade survey online.

“The sooner individuals respond via phone or online, they are assisting in social distancing efforts to limit census workers being required to follow-up on invitations by making door-to-door visits,” state Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin said in a news release.

Counting college students

Several area colleges and universities sent students home to finish out the semester as the coronavirus spreads, including the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, Westmoreland County Community College, Seton Hill University and Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania opted to extend their spring break until March 23.

For census workers, having students attend online classes in their hometowns could become problematic depending on where the student says they reside. According to census Director Steven Dillingham, students should fill out the form as if they are still living at school — the place they spend most of their time.

Census workers will also delay non-response follow ups in towns around colleges and universities until April 23 due to the fact that students are not currently on campus or living in off-campus housing. Typically, census workers start knocking on doors around April 9 to catch students before they leave at the end of the spring semester.

“We are adjusting some operations … with two key principles in mind: protecting the health and safety of our staff and the public and fulfilling our statutory requirement to deliver the 2020 Census counts to the president on schedule,” Dillingham said in a news release.

So far, over 5 million have self-responded to the census. Officials predict the census will remain on track with a completion date of July 31.