The U.S. Census Bureau’s announcement last week that it was suspending all field operations for two weeks until April 1 because of the COVID-19 outbreak should not affect most people.

Even though the Census Bureau has had to adapt its strategy because of the pandemic and most of us are preoccupied with how our lives are upended, it’s still very important to complete the census to be sure our communities get an accurate count.

Most Americans should have received their forms by mail already and are being asked to answer 12 questions about their households online or by telephone.

The questions include the names, dates of birth, genders and races of everyone in a household. Answers are due back by April 1.

If you have not received a mailer from the Census Bureau, you can log onto your computer and be counted at bit.ly/​CensusOnline or call a toll-free number to complete this important task.

Phone lines — available in numerous languages including English (844-330-2020), Spanish (844-391-2020), Arabic (844-416-2020), Polish (844-479-2020), and both Mandarin (844-391-2020) and Cantonese (844-398-2020) — are open every day from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Eastern Time.

As of March 18, 11 million households had answered the questions for the nation’s once-a-decade count of the population. The census, required by the U.S. Constitution and performed every 10 years since 1790, will help determine how more than $26 billion in federal funding is distributed throughout Pennsylvania.

Federal funds for highways, education, health care, housing and more are at stake, as is Pennsylvania’s representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

While Pennsylvania and neighbors Ohio, New York and West Virginia are expected to each lose a seat in the House — and, thus, an electoral vote — starting in 2022, there’s no sense in risking a bigger loss by not getting an accurate count.

The Census Bureau’s field operations — suspended for most census workers until May — seek out homeless people and those living in group housing such as college dorms, nursing homes and prisons.

It’s an important job and the federal government should ensure it is completed properly, even if it takes longer because of the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension was a sensible precaution to protect the health of census workers and the public, but the count must be done accurately and completely.

For now, those who received a census form should go online or pick up the phone and make sure they and their family members are counted.

First Published: March 23, 2020, 10:00 a.m.