Census takers are preparing to go door to door in North Carolina to follow up with those who have not yet completed their 2020 forms.
North Carolina's census response rate is about 59 percent as of Friday, below the national average of 62 percent.
Durrell Johnson, with the NC Counts Coalition, says the pandemic has thrown off their outreach operations, which usually revolve around face-to-face contact with community members. They've since pivoted to virtual activities.
Johnson says they're now focusing on getting people to take part before census takers reach out to them.
"We know there's some people that are just not comfortable with somebody coming to knock at your door because of the environment that we live in right now," said Johnson. "So we're really encouraging homes to go ahead and self respond”
Johnson says census takers will be outfitted in PPE during the process. They're scheduled to begin their work on August 11.
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