6 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 9, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Making Sense of the Census
Our
Heroes
Are
Counting
On Us
NEW YORKERS:
Warmest wishes to
all who celebrate
Passover and Easter.
Stay healthy and safe.
Congresswoman
Grace Meng
Paid for and authorized by Grace for New York
STAY HOME TO STOP THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
New Yorkers working together and staying home can slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)
in New York City. When you go out for essential needs, work or to get fresh air, keep distance
between yourself and others and take the following precautions.
Text COVID to 692-692 for real-time updates or visit nyc.gov/coronavirus.
Call 311 to report harassment or discrimination. Call 888-NYC-WELL, text "WELL" to 65173
or chat online at nyc.gov/nycwell to connect with a counselor.
*Messages and data rates may apply. Check your wireless provider plan for details.
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Oxiris Barbot, MD
Commissioner
PROTECT YOURSELF
AND OTHERS
• Keep at least 6 feet between
yourself and others.
• Wash your hands with soap
and water often.
• Cover your nose and mouth
with a tissue or sleeve when
sneezing or coughing.
• Do not touch your face with
unwashed hands.
• Monitor your health more
closely than usual for cold or
flu symptoms.
IF YOU ARE SICK
• Stay home.
• If you have a cough,
shortness of breath, fever,
sore throat and do not feel
better after 3-4 days,
consult with your doctor.
• If you need help getting
medical care, call 311.
• NYC will provide care
regardless of immigration
status or ability to pay.
REDUCE
OVERCROWDING
• Stay home.
• Telecommute if possible.
If you do go out:
• Stagger work hours away
from peak travel times.
• Walk or bike.
• Do not gather in crowds.
PROTECT THE
MOST VULNERABLE
• Stay home if you have
lung disease, heart disease,
diabetes, cancer or a
weakened immune system.
• Stay home and call, video
chat or text with family or
friends who have one of
these conditions.
By Julie Menin, Director of NYC
Census 2020 AND Kristina Newman-
Scott, President of BRIC.
With COVID-19 at the top of everyone’s
minds, it’s important to take a
moment to appreciate and thank the
workers that are keeping our city going.
From our doctors, nurses and
health officials, to bus drivers and
conductors, to the essential workers
keeping our city running, we’re relying
on our public services more and
more every day.
And now, they’re counting on us.
Because to keep our public services
fully funded and working for the
next decade, we need to make sure all
of us are counted in the 2020 Census.
This is why NYC Census 2020 and
BRIC partnered to create a new PSA
demonstrating why doing the census
is one of the most important ways to
support our communities in these difficult
times.
With the coronavirus introducing
new challenges to our communities,
the census could not be more important.
Now more than ever, we are seeing
how much we all rely on our public
services: our hospitals, healthcare,
roads and bridges, transit, schools
and countless other programs.
The census is also vital because
census data is being used to determine
our responses to crises. The
communities hit hardest by COVID-19
are some of the most historically undercounted
in the census. If New York
City does not have a complete count, it
hurts the funding, political representation,
and data needed to serve these
communities.
Luckily, since the census is available
online, over the phone, and by
mail, you can get counted on your
own from home. In other words, you
can still fight for social justice while
social distancing.
“Making Sense of the Census” is a
weekly column from Julie Menin, Director
of NYC Census 2020. Every week
we will be publishing pieces from Julie
and guest authors laying out the facts
and answering tough questions about
this year’s census. Fill out the census
now at my2020census.gov.
/nycwell
/coronavirus
/WWW.QNS.COM
/my2020census.gov