SOME 26 million Malaysians have been enumerated via the national census exercise so far, despite the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting the door-to-door drive, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

       Out of this, 28.1% was enumerated online and 71.9% was enumerated face-to-face as of Sept 12.

       “In line with the development of the increasing Covid-19 vaccination rates, face-to-face and targeted censuses are rescheduled to begin in September and are expected to be completed by Oct 31, 2021,” he said in a written reply to Ong Kian Ming (PH-Bangi) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

       Ong had wanted to know when the 2020 Census would be completed and whether the inaccurate population estimates due to the delayed census had affected calculations and planning for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.Ismail Sabri said that planning for the programme had used population estimates for 2020 and that the implementation of the census did not affect the vaccination drive.

       “The 2020 population estimate data is based on the Population and Housing 2010 census which has taken into account three of the main components of population change which are births, deaths and net migration,” he said.

       He added that registration for the vaccine uses the most recent residential address to ensure individuals receive their injections quickly.