Some Bay Area DMV Offices Reopen For Customers With Existing Appointments
SANTA CLARA (KPIX 5) -- On Thursday, California's Department of Motor Vehicles reopened dozens of offices around the state, but the setup is different from what it was before the pandemic.
Week 10 of the coronavirus lockdown brought new signs that life is slowly getting back to normal in California. Another 46 DMV offices opened up Thursday morning, with nine of them located in the Bay Area.
KPIX 5 cameras were there when the Santa Clara DMV office opened its doors for the first time in two months. It was obvious it would not be business as usual.
A greeter makes first contact with arriving individual to provide some guidance on where they need to go.
Any waiting in line is done outside, with markings on the ground showing people where to stand.
Employees were not shy about reminding customers to stay six feet apart.
Once ready, people were called in one at a time, and everyone was required to wear masks.
KPIX cameras were not allowed inside the office, but from what was visible, every other booth in the testing zone was cordoned off in order to maintain social distancing.
All the employees had masks on, but only a few wore gloves. The DMV said they are making PPE available to employees.
Walk-ins or anyone without an appointment were turned away and no appointments were being booked onsite.
In fact, the DMV website even says "new appointments are not currently available." So far, there has been no word on when the DMV will allow new appointments to be made.
Anyone who could do so was directed to a kiosk around the corner to take care of more routine tasks.
Jon Freeman said he had no problems entering a public building with so many people.
They've had enough time to figure out spacing and, I think, cleaning. And they've been very good about asking us to all wear masks, said Freeman. So I think they're on top of it. Which makes me feel pretty comfortable.
71 DMV offices are now open out of a total 170 in the state, with more to be opened up in phases over the coming weeks.
While new appointments are not being scheduled yet, a full list of the DMV's online services can be found at dmv.ca.gov/online.