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Abstract:
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2020 Census field operations were temporarily halted in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic grew. The Census Bureau’s Fusion Center was created for the purpose of anticipating and monitoring cross-channel risks to the 2020 Census and to the Census Bureau. In February 2020, Fusion Center staff began monitoring COVID-19 data. Once field operations were revised to minimize contact, provide field staff personal protective equipment, and allow for electronic submission of data in additional group quarters, field enumerations resumed. Analysis of a variety of threads of COVID-19 data was incorporated into decisions about when and where to open field offices and begin enumeration activities. These included analysis of local risks and state-level Stay at Home orders and Phased Reopening guidance, as well as local jurisdiction policies. Of particular note, the Nonresponse Followup operation, in which nonresponding households are enumerated in person, used a phased approach for opening offices and beginning enumerations, incorporating the COVID-19 analysis into decisions about where to open. We will show how COVID-19 data were factored into these critical decisions.
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