Keren Daniel leaned against a wall outside the Department of Public Safety office in northwest Houston as visitors trickled in and out.

The Montrose resident grabbed her number, then immediately walked out again after seeing dozens of people seated inside.

“I feel like I'm taking a bath in virus soup,” she said, grimacing. “I'll wait outside.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Daniel was one of about 40 people waiting at the northwest Houston DPS office to handle critical paperwork. For her, it was to file a change of address needed for her taxes.

Even after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the agency to temporarily waive license renewal requirements as the state grapples with the fast-moving coronavirus pandemic, DPS offices remained open, drawing crowds much larger than the 10-person maximum President Donald J. Trump recommended Americans avoid to prevent spread.

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DPS did not respond multiple requests for comment by phone and email Wednesday. At 9 p.m., Abbott’s office in a news release announced all DPS offices would close immediately. Initial commercial license seekers will be allowed to make visits by appointment-only via email.

As concern over the coronavirus escalates, Abbott has restricted visitation at prisons, jails and juvenile justice facilities. Local officials across the state have shut down courts, recreation centers, libraries, bars and restaurants. The Texas Capitol has closed to visitors. Many Texas agency offices, such as the Department of Agriculture, have closed to the public.

The expiration dates for regular and commercial driver licenses and other forms of identification are waived for 60 days after DPS resumes normal drivers license operations. But on Wednesday at the northwest Houston office, it appeared many hadn’t received the memo. Others needed temporary IDs.

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A DPS employee handed out letters explaining the license extension to visitors. Still, many chose to take a number.

Customers, trying to give each other some space as they filed into rows of chairs, waited for their numbers to be called. An employee wiped down a desk with what looked like a Clorox wipe. Some visitors wore masks. But the order of the day appeared to be waiting, as usual.

Cesar Casares, 25, was among them, with his mother. Both wore masks and rubber gloves.

Casares, of Venezuela, said he was visiting Houston on a tourist visa for the next few months and needed a temporary ID. He wasn't terribly worried.

“We have masks and gloves,” he said. “Once I get in the car I'll throw them in a bag and get rid of them.”

Still, as Abbott publicly suggested banning to ban meetings of more than 10 people, the crowd at the drivers license office raised questions. Casares wondered why DPS employees didn't stagger visitors into the building and let others wait outside.

“Many countries have quarantines,” he said. “They ought to do that, or have gloves and masks for people. Or a better system.”

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Rickey Rigsby, 56, who is homeless, needed a new ID. The news about the virus had unnerved him but he was trying not to worry.

“I'm pretty scared,” he said.

He said he is making sure to wash his hands frequently or to use hand sanitizer. He wanted to get back to where he sleeps every night — downtown, near The Beacon.

“It's up to God,” he said.

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Ryan Hillin, 31, walked in moments later, and sat a few rows down.

Tall, bearded, and fresh out of jail after being charged with deadly conduct — accused of shooting his refrigerator in a drunken rage because it was making too much noise — he needed an ID to go see his girlfriend in Lubbock.

“I can't get there without an ID,” he said. "They won't let me get on a car, bus, plane, or train."

He'd ended up in the DPS office after trying to renew online — no dice — and then on the phone — also no dice. Hillin said he had expected the office to be closed, only to find dozens of people inside.

“It’s ridiculous,” he said.

st.john.smith@chron.com; taylor.goldenstein@chron.com