The state’s Department of Transportation made the right move this week by extending expiration dates for a number of required items for drivers. Due to the spread of novel coronavirus 2019, PennDOT announced Tuesday that since its drivers license centers are closing to prevent the virus’s spread, expiration dates are being extended for everything from drivers licenses, learner’s permits and identification cards to vehicle registration, placards for persons with disabilities and safety and emission inspections.

Expiration dates for any piece of ID that was scheduled to expire between March 16 and March 31 has been extended to April 30.

For many Pennsylvanians, PennDOT’s move will likely come as a relief. At this moment in time, any relief is welcome.

Not only are residents likely worried about whether COVID-19 will affect their jobs or their health and that of their family members, but tax season is currently approaching, and the virus’s spread will probably wreak havoc on that process and cause a fair amount of stress.

PennDOT’s decision was the right one. So was the department’s announcement that it would halt construction projects, and only perform maintenance on roads in critical conditions as needed.

Blocking up the road with construction at a time when more people than usual might be rushing to a health care facility, or when people are attempting to keep their trips to essential businesses — such as grocery stores or pharmacies — as brief as possible would have been an additional hazard. While the extended deadline for updating IDs and getting inspections will give Pennsylvanians one less thing to worry about at a time of greatly increased stress, we hope the state remains flexible. In other words, if COVID-19 ends up affecting the state — forcing businesses to remain shuttered and people to stay home — for a period longer than a few weeks, then we hope PennDOT will continue to extend expiration dates until it is deemed safe to go out among the public. Other state agencies with pending deadlines that affect residents should consider doing the same.