First construction, now recreation. The governor’s second “reopening” announcement tops tonight’s roundup:

SOME STATE SITES REOPENING FOR RECREATION: Gov. Inslee still won’t say if he’s extending the stay-home order past May 4th, but today he did say one thing will be different starting May 5th: Some state parks will reopen, and some outdoor recreation. Two slides:

Here’s our coverage, with video. P.S. We asked the city if the governor’s inclusion of golf would mean West Seattle and other city courses will reopen. No reply.

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Seattle-King County Public Health data dashboard:

*5,990 people have tested positive, up 78 from yesterday

*416 people have died, up 9 from yesterday

One week ago, the totals were 5,293 and 360.

ANOTHER LOCAL DEATH: One of those newly counted deaths was in West Seattle. According to the data dashboard’s zip-code tracking, 98126 now has 6 deaths (we check all five zip codes daily, and it was 5 yesterday); 98146 remains at 3, 98106 at 2, 98136 at 1, 98116 at 0.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

DELIVERY-CUT CAP RATIFIED: Today the City Council ratified the emergency order, inspired by a West Seattle Chamber of Commerce letter, capping the percentage that food-delivery services can take; here’s the statement from West Seattle-residing Council President Lorena González.

FREE FOOD: If you’re in need, here’s a chance to get help on Wednesday.

TROUBLE PAYING YOUR INTERNET BILL? Comcast sent a news release saying it’s extending temporary policies into the summer such as:

No Disconnects and Waiving Late Fees: We will not disconnect a customer’s Xfinity Internet, Xfinity Mobile, or Xfinity Voice service, and we will waive late fees if they contact us and let us know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Our care teams are available to offer flexible payment options or help find other solutions.

Xfinity WiFi Free for Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots in business and outdoor locations across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi.

SIGNS OF SUPPORT: Did you see SFD and SPD out during Friday Night Lights last week? If your neighborhood got a visit from Engine 36, you might have seen the signs these kids made:

They’re featured at the end of this SFD post, which explains their dad is firefighter Brian Friske of North Delridge’s Station 36, and they made the signs for Engine 36 to display. (No word yet if FNL will continue this Friday.)

GOT INFO? PHOTOS? Email westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!

2:36 PM: Click into the video window for Governor Inslee‘s media briefing, with guests from state Parks, Public Lands, and Fish and Wildlife. We’ll update as it goes.

He says he’s announcing a “partial reopening of outdoor recreation” starting on May 5th.
-day use of state parks
-day use of public lands
-day use of state fish and wildlife areas

“Any additional relaxing” would depend on “data and compliance,” he says, and warns “this is not a return to normal.” He says it’s about “data, not dates.” Team sports, events, camping, gatherings are NOT resuming, he stresses. He also urges people to continue to limit travel,”not make overnight trips” to recreation areas. He says golf will be OK if you’re playing with one other non-related person.

Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz speaks next, saying she’s hopeful this is a “first step toward normalcy,” but urging visitors to bring their own sanitizer, masks, etc., and to continue practicing distancing.

The next guest, Fish and Wildlife director Kelly Susewind, says most – but not all – hunting and fishing seasons will open (but not Areas 1-4 yet). He reiterates that there’ll be no camping – “stick with day trips.”

It’s also noted that not all state parks will reopen – coastal parks, for example.

2:56 PM: The governor didn’t say anything about extending the stay-home order (which expires in a week), so that’s the first question he’s asked. “We are a long ways from the end of this virus, and we are going to have to maintain plenty of restrictions after May 4th,” he said, without a “yes” or “no” answer, but saying he’ll have more to say within a few days.

He’s asked what data told him it’s OK to partially reopen recreation, and he launched into a variety off stats, good and not-so-good. “We are SO far from being able to turn this off like a light switch,” he warns. He also says the state is still far short of the testing capability he would like to have, though he says he received a federal assuurance that more we would be on the way within a few weeks.

What about elective surgery, which he had recently mentioned as something else that might reopen soon? “We are trying to come up with a protocol” to allow them without taking away from PPE that’s needed by those working on the most urgent health-care needs. “We’re still talking with stakeholders.”

What about haircutters? The governor gives a fairly nonspecific answer – that all depends “when we drive this [infection] number down small enough” that contact tracing and isolation are possible, how much social distancing will be possible, what protocols can be developed.

3:13 PM: The governor is asked why he can’t share specific benchmarks he’s looking at for decisions on reopening more of the state. “Going forward, we’re going to be looking at opening several more industries,” he says without naming them, saying “multiple metrics” are involved – not just the infection rate, but also the health-care system’s status, the testing/tracing capabilities – “you have to consider all those together.” The next questioner asks him for specific numbers. “There’s no one number,” Inslee reiterates, but mentions some such as the number of tests that come back positive, which he says is now close to 8 percent but needs to be lower. “It is not enough for our health and our safety to just eliminate social distancing” – contact tracing and isolation of people exposed, and their families, will be needed for a long time, he says.

The briefing ends at 3:25 pm. As always, the video should be available for playback soon in the same window above, and we will add links to whatever the governor’s office posts to spell out today’s announcements. (Added: Here’s a link.)

9:03 AM: With one week left in the stay-home order, Gov. Inslee has announced a media briefing/Q&A for 2:30 pm today. Looks like the topic will be outdoor recreation, part of what he has said would be likely to reopen soon – the announcement includes this:

The governor will be joined by Hilary Franz, commissioner of public lands; Kelly Susewind, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; and Don Hoch, director of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

The live video stream will be here; we’ll carry it too.

9:16 AM: Meantime, an announcement just in from the governor’s office – Colorado and Nevada are joining Washington, Oregon, and California in the Western States Pact, “a working group of Western state governors with a shared vision for modifying stay at home orders and fighting COVID-19,” originally announced two weeks ago.