Census field operations to restart in Hays County

The U.S. Census Bureau will restart field operations in Hays County beginning this week.

A phased restart of its field operations will be conducted in coordination with federal, state and local health officials, according to a press release from the census bureau.

Alongside operations resuming in Hays County, field operations will also restart in other counties serviced by the Williamson County Area Census Office, which includes Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Concho, Gillespie, Guadalupe Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Lampasas, Llano, McCulloch, Mason, Menard, Mills, San Saba and Williamson counties.

According to the census bureau’s release, the health and safety of its staff is at the “utmost importance.”

“All returning staff will receive safety training to observe social distancing protocols in the COVID-19 environment,” the U.S. Census Bureau said in its press release. “They will also use government-provided personal protective equipment for their safety and the safety of the public. The census bureau has ordered face masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer for all field staff, including those who work in the field offices. For (area census offices), the census bureau has also ordered disinfectant wipes. These materials will be secured and provided to staff prior to restarting operations.”

With operations resuming, the census bureau will begin operation Update Leave, where 2020 Census invitation packets will be left at front doors of households in areas where the majority of households do not receive mail at their home, the bureau said.

Approximately 5% of households are counted in operation Update Leave, according to the census bureau. During the operation, census workers confirm or update a household’s physical address and leave a census questionnaire packet.

Census material began being delivered to households on March 15 but operations were suspended on March 18 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operation Update Leave doesn’t require interaction between census workers and households and follows federal health and safety guidelines.

Households that receive a 2020 Census invitation are encouraged to promptly respond to the census by using the census ID included in the questionnaire packet, the bureau stated.

Participation in this year’s census is mandated in the U.S. Constitution. For the first time, the census form can be filled out online. The census can also be filled out by phone by calling 844- 330-2020 for English or 844-468-2020 for Spanish. Those wishing to fill out the census in another language visit https://2020census. gov/en/ways-to-respond/ responding-by-phone.html. The census can also be filled out by mail.

In Hays County, 53.4% of the population has already self-responded to this year’s census, according to the bureau. Only 40.9% of San Marcos residents have responded to the 2020 census.