SALEM — For much of state government, life in the coronavirus era goes on with less interruption.

For certain classes of state employees, the state has announced that their request to work remotely will be considered approved unless they hear otherwise from their supervisor within 72 hours.

Because each agency manages its own employees’ telecommuting, there is no count of how many employees statewide are working remotely do to coronavirus concerns, according to Liz Merah of the state Department of Administrative Services.

Gov. Kate Brown has ordered DAS Director Katy Coba to determine which public services are essential and to ensure that proper “social distancing” is maintained. Some agencies, including prisons, operate around the clock. The Department of Corrections has suspended all visitation but will provide inmates with two, 5-minute phone calls for free each week.

Some decisions await federal decisions. Brown said that if the federal government would waive the Oct. 1 deadline for implementing REAL-ID driver licenses, that would reduce pressure on Oregon DMV employees to continue interacting with the public.

In the meantime, DMV offices are canceling driving tests, cleaning common surfaces more frequently and trying to improve social distance among customers.

“We continue to encourage people to delay their visit as long as possible, to do business with DMV2U online or by mail if possible. And as a reminder, you can register to vote and change your voter affiliation online at sos.oregon.gov,” said Oregon DMV spokesman David House.

Meanwhile, state-run video lottery terminals have been disabled. DEQ has closed its vehicle inspection stations. The Oregon Capitol is off-limits to the public. The Oregon Public Safety Academy has suspended its training of new police officers and other first responders.

Most court trials and some other proceedings have been postponed. State commissions have canceled meetings or switched to teleconferences and video links.

And the spring break tradition of Whale Watch Week will be a do-it-yourself endeavor, with no volunteer interpreters staffing the usual whale watch stations.