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OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee could announce an extension of his statewide coronavirus stay-at-home order later this week, according to his chief of staff. The order is currently scheduled to lift at the end of the day on May 4, but the governor has said parts of it would continue for longer. “We hope we will be able to tell you what the date of the extension will be by the end of this week,” said Inslee chief of staff David Postman in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.”But I’m not 100% sure we will do that, but we’re certainly going to try to share that as soon as we can.”

The remarks come as Inslee in recent days has taken small steps to lift some measures intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. The governor on Friday announced that some construction work on existing projects could start back up under new safety guidelines and social-distancing requirements to protect workers.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Health John Wiesman said Tuesday there have been discussions about reopening regional areas of Washington that have fewer coronavirus cases. “We are exploring that right now, in terms of what that might look like,” he said, adding later: “We are exploring what kind of a regionalized approach would look like.” “And I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about that in the days to come, as we make some further decisions about that” he added. Still, said Wiesman, “We certainly want to see cases decreasing everywhere.”