Contingency plans and recommendations for statistical production in the face of the health emergency generated by COVID-19

Given the magnitude of the health emergency generated by COVID-19 worldwide, which has interfered in the operation of the National Statistical Offices (NSO), and has even caused the suspension of several of its operations, "Conectados RTC" offers this space to publicize the recommendations by international organizations regarding statistical production, and the strategies that the countries are implementing.

The Statistics Division of ECLAC, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Population and development Division (CELADE) of ECLAC, in collaboration with the National Statistics Institute (INE) of Chile, have carried out videoconferences with the statistical offices of the countries to address their concerns and provide technical support. Along with this, it is compiling the publications and announcements made by both international organizations and the NSOs, which details the recommendations and contingency plans adopted. Below you will find the respective links.

STATISTICS DIVISION OF ECLAC

• Statistics Division Publications - Recommendations
  • Continuity of household surveys after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
  • Compiling national accounts, balance of payments and foreign trade statistics in the framework of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) health emergency
  • Recommendations for eliminating selection bias in household surveys during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic 
  • Producing the consumer price index (CPI) and the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Recommendations for the publication of official statistics, based on household surveys in the face of the COVID-19 crisis 

• Videoconferences 
  • November 26: The role of the National Statistical Offices as Data stewards (Spanish only)
  • November 19: Webinar Economic statistics: information collection and imputation strategies and seasonal adjustment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (Spanish only)
  • October 15: Webinar "Data collection, innovation and statistical production during the COVID-19 pandemic" (Spanish only) 
  • September 24: Fourth videoconference on measures to face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on price collection and National Accounts (Spanish only) 
  • July 30: Third videoconference on the impact of COVID-19 on Population and Housing Censuses (Spanish only)
  • June 11: Third videoconference on the impact of COVID-19 on Household Surveys (Spanish only) 
  • June 3: Covid-19 impact on Labour Force Surveys and other household surveys in Caribbean countries
  • May 28: Second videoconference on measures adopted in the population and housing censuses to face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (Spanish only) 
  • May 27: Statistical Production on National Accounts, Balance of Payments and External Trade in the face of the health emergency generated by COVID-19. Third videoconference with Caribbean countries
  • May 07: Statistical production on Prices in the face of the health emergency generated by COVID-19 (Caribbean countries) 
  • April 22: Videoconference on measures adopted in the elaboration of National Accounts and Balance of payments (Spanish only) 
  • April 15: Videoconference on measures adopted in the population and housing censuses 
  • April 8: Second videoconference on price collection (Spanish only) 
  • April 1: Second videoconference on measures taken in household surveys (Spanish only) 
  • March 26: Measures taken by National Statistical Offices to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (Caribbean countries) 
  • March 25: Measures to face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on price collection and other economic statistics (Spanish only) 
  • March 24: Measures taken to face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on household surveys (Spanish only) 

• Survey on COVID-19 and its impact on statistical operations in the region. The Statistics Division has conducted surveys of the National Statistical Offices and Central Banks regarding the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on their operations. The questionnaires have been in the field of social and economic statistics.
  • May 2020. Results of the questionnaire on Household Surveys. 
  • May 2020. Results of the questionnaire on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). 
  • March 2020. Results of the questionnaires on: Censuses, Household Surveys and Economic Statistics. 

PUBLICATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe - UNECE 
  • COVID-19 and official statistics. This platform is dedicated to the COVID-19 response in the context of official statistics. You will find here information on the role of national statistical offices (NSOs) in the COVID-19 response, impacts of the crisis on statistical production and corresponding resources. 

• European Statistical Office - EUROSTAT
  • COVID-19: Support for statisticians. This site brings together guides and methodological recommendations for statistical production in the face of problems caused by the health emergency in the operation of Statistical Offices.

• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and World Bank
  • Monitoring the state of statistical operations under the COVID-19 Pandemic. Results of a survey applied to NSOs worldwide regarding the impact of the pandemic on their statistical operations.

• United Nations Statistics Division - UNSD
  • COVID-19 response. This website provides a space for the global statistical community to share guidance, actions, tools and best practices to ensure the operational continuity of data programmes by National Statistical Offices 
  • Countries with a census in 2020 and the impact of COVID-19. This website provides an overview of the pandemic's consequences in terms of census-taking in the year 2020. 
  • UN COVID-19 Data Hub. This section makes data relevant to COVID-19 response readily available as geospatial data web services, suitable for the production of maps and other data visualizations and analyses, and easy to download in multiple formats. 

• Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities - CCSA
  • How COVID-19 is changing the world: a statistical perspective. This document provides data on how the global pandemic is affecting the entire world. It covers different dimensions, from economic and environmental fluctuations to changes that affect individuals in terms of income, education, employment and violence and changes affecting public services such as civil aviation and postal services. The report also puts a spotlight on the affects for some sub-population groups like women and children as well as geographical regions. 

• International Labour Organization - ILO 
  • Guidance to the definition and measurement of remote work, telework, work at home and home-based work
  • Guidance for labour statistics data collection
  • COVID-19 impact on the collection of labour market statistics 
  • Monitoring labour markets amid lockdowns to contain the COVID-19 virus: Essential labour force survey content and treatment of special groups 

• United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA 
  • Technical Brief on the Implications of COVID-19 on Census

• Caribbean Community - CARICOM
  • The Statistical Bulletin provides information on the pattern of the disease of the total number of confirmed cases, new cases and deaths for each country and the total for CARICOM. 
    • Special Topic Statistical Bulletin COVID-19 Issue 17. Provides an update of the trajectory of the COVID-19 in the CARICOM Region up to 17 July 2020.
    • Special Topic Statistical Bulletin COVID-19 Issue 16. Provides an update of the trajectory of the COVID-19 in the CARICOM Region up to 10 July 2020.

• GeoCensos
  • Mapping responses to COVID-19 How far are National Statistical Offices leading a data revolution? This document presents a list of geostatistical initiatives that respond to the coronavirus phenomenon by the ONEs. Seven lessons learned based on the unprecedented experiences of collaboration between the Offices and third sources on the occasion of the coronavirus situation are highlighted (Spanish only). 

NATIONAL STATISTICAL OFFICES 

• INDEC - Argentina 
  • Suspension of field operations (Spanish only) 

• IBGE - Brasil 
  • The census is postponed to 2021, and the gathering of face-to-face information is suspended (Spanish only)

• INE - Chile 
  • Suspension of field surveys (Spanish only)
  • Measures taken for the National Employment Survey (Spanish only)

• DANE - Colombia 
  • DANE’s actions to address the COVID-19 crisis. This document presents the actions that DANE has carried out to continue the statistical work, especially the Great Integrated Household Survey.
  • Operational guidelines in the face of sanitary emergency generated by COVID-19 and the new national mandatory preventive insulation measure (Spanish only)

• DIGESTYC - El Salvador 
  • Extraordinary prevention and containment measures to declare the national territory as an area subject to sanitary control, in order to contain the pandemic COVID-19 (publication in the Official Journal) (Spanish only) 

• INEGI - Mexico 
  • All face-to-face surveys are postponed until further notice. Data will be collected by internet, telephone and digital platforms to continue the generation of economic information including the Consumer Price Index, economic surveys and national accounts (Spanish only) 

• DGEEC - Paraguay 
  • All field work is suspended, and telephone interviews will be implemented (Spanish only)

• INEI - Peru
  • Activities are suspended (Spanish only)

• INE - Uruguay 
  • New modalities of non-face-to-face interviews (Spanish only)