The U.S. Census Bureau, in coordination with federal, state and local health officials, has begun a phased restart of some 2020 Census field operations in select geographic areas, including south Mississippi.
And it’s a good thing for Biloxi, where the Census Bureau reports just over half of the households have responded. The national count, which is used to help divvy up millions in state and federal dollars, shows 57.5 percent of the households nationwide have responded, 53.2 percent in Mississippi and 54.2 percent in Biloxi.
“With everything that we have going on today, I ask our residents to please take a moment to fill out the census questionnaire, which can be done easily online,” said Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich. “It’s vitally important that you do this.”
As part of the phased restart of operations, the Census Bureau will resume dropping off 2020 Census invitation packets at front doors of households in areas where the majority of households do not receive mail at their home. This operation is also known as Update Leave.
The health and safety of Census Bureau staff and the public is of the utmost importance, the Census Bureau says, and all returning staff will receive safety training to observe social distancing protocols in the COVID-19 environment. The Census Bureau has ordered Personal Protective Equipment, known as PPE, for all field staff, including those who work in a field office.
Someone is very likely to notice if you do not fill out and return your form, the Census Bureau says. All of the responses received by the Census Bureau will be compared to major lists of U.S. residences. If your response has not been received – or if you didn’t complete all the questions on your form – someone from the census will contact you for that information.
Says Gilich: “Don’t wait. Do it now, please.”
See interactive map of Census response rate
Complete your census form online
