445 – 445 - GOVT CSpeed 2
Using COVID-19 Data as Input for Planning 2020 Census Field Operations
Robin A A. Pennington
U.S. Census Bureau
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 Follow-up 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.