Gov. Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home advisory and closure of non-essential businesses expire May 18. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who is leading a task force that will guide the reopening, said Monday that that is not a “magical date,” but rather the day on which the task force will release its report.

That begs the obvious question: If the report comes out the same day the orders expire, what happens May 19? Don’t businesses – and administration officials – need time to react to the report? Businesses presumably will have to make changes to their business practices before they can reopen.

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce called on the Baker administration to instead publicly release its reopening plan this Friday, May 8, informing the public about what activities will be permitted under what circumstances. Chamber officials said this would give businesses and employees 10 days to prepare.

The governor on Wednesday provided slightly more clarity. Baker said assuming the data continue to show a downward trend in coronavirus spread, which didn’t happen Wednesday, his goal would be to open some businesses starting May 18 in a limited fashion, with safety precautions. He appeared to backtrack slightly on Polito’s statements from Monday, noting that her commission has already filed interim reports and is expected to make some recommendations before May 18.

Baker is already showing signs of loosening the shutdowns. Monday evening, the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development updated its web page to reflect new regulations allowing non-essential businesses to bring a small number of employees into work to fulfill online and phone orders. This will let florists deliver Mother’s Day flowers, and also allow a host of other retail businesses to return to conducting at least limited business.

Oddly for an administration that has been holding daily press briefings and sending out frequent press releases, state officials did not send out any notice of the changes, although they were quickly picked up by the media. Perhaps Baker doesn’t want to be seen as reopening while the surge of patients continues. Or he doesn’t want to be asked why he allowed florists to open now, while punting questions about reopening other businesses – like marijuana dispensaries – to Polito’s task force.

Other changes appear to be in the works. MassLive reported that Baker on Thursday plans to announce rules under which golf courses can reopen.

While Baker never banned construction statewide, Boston did. Mayor Marty Walsh has now announced plans to restart construction projects.

It appears, despite the governor’s cautious talk about data and trends, that in a limited fashion, the reopening has already begun.

SHIRA SCHOENBERG

BEACON HILL

What few realize is that the lion’s share of COVID-19 deaths in Massachusetts are occurring in nursing homes. Once you separate out those fatalities and infections, the coronavirus fight looks a lot different, even Wednesday’s setback among the reopening indicators. (CommonWealth)

State Rep. Liz Miranda of Roxbury has tested positive for coronavirus. (Boston Globe)

Gov. Charlie Baker plans to let golf courses reopen this week. (MassLive) Millbury officials say Clearview Country Club has been keeping its golf course open, defying Baker’s shutdown order. (Telegram & Gazette)

The Massachusetts House holds its first remote session, with masked Speaker Robert DeLeo presiding. (CommonWealth)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

The Yarmouth Board of Selectmen votes to reopen the beaches, which is in conflict with the Board of Health’s order to close them. (Cape Cod Times)

The homeless shelter for COVID-19 patients at the DCU Center in Worcester has been closed and its 10 residents transferred to a state-run hotel facility in Northampton. The center had few residents and difficulty finding staff. (Telegram & Gazette)

The number of new infections reported in Chelsea has fallen for four straight days. (Boston Herald)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

A former CDC official warns of a second wave of COVID-19. (NPR)

Travelers from New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, played a huge role in seeding the virus’s spread across the country, according to new research. (New York Times)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

US House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal says the next proposed federal stimulus bill will become public in the next few days, and will include money for hospitals, state and local government, and possibly individuals. (MassLive)

The White House zigzagged and seemed to reverse course one day after saying its coronavirus task force would wind down and hand over its duties to federal health agencies. (Politico)

“Trump’s narcissism deadens any ability he might otherwise have had to carry out the duties of a president in the manner the Constitution requires,” writes George Conway III, husband to top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway, after Trump exploded in reaction to an TV ad slamming him being run by Conway and other Republicans.  (Washington Post)

ELECTIONS

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin lays out his plan for mail-in voting by request. (CommonWealth)

Plymouth appeals to Senate President Karen Spilka to once again delay the May 19 election for state Senate from the area. (Cape Cod Times)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Moody’s Analytics projects that rents for downtown Boston office space will fall by 12 percent this year, one of the five largest declines the firm sees ahead for US cities. (Boston Globe)

Two more Walmart stores, in Abington and Avon, were temporarily closed because of coronavirus concerns. (Boston Globe)

Dentists are being hit hard by the shutdown of all but emergency services at their offices. (Boston Globe)

Mike Hruby of New Jobs for Massachusetts says limits on independent contracting hurt employers and workers. (CommonWealth)

EDUCATION

Even during a pandemic, 70-year-old Emmett Folgert of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative is finding a way to connect with at-risk kids in the neighborhood — one gift card at a time — and keep them focused on school. (CommonWealth) Boston 25 News jumped on CommonWealth’s story and interviewed Folgert yesterday afternoon.

Chris Smith and James Morton argue that this summer will be a pivotal learning time to make sure students don’t fall too far behind. (CommonWealth)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

The EPA grants $800,000 to New Bedford to clean up brownfield sites. (South Coast Today)

CASINOS

Encore Boston Harbor lost $60.6 million in the first quarter of the year as the casino shut down operations. (Boston Globe)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

The Andover man accused of defrauding the federal small business loan program has a criminal history, including a conviction for bank fraud. (The Salem News)

Recordings of phone calls of detainees at the Bristol County Jail give a sense of what the confrontation sounded like from inside. (CommonWealth)

A man released from Worcester County Jail out of fear of contracting coronavirus instead caught the virus on the outside, then was returned to jail for committing an assault. (Telegram & Gazette)

Joe Battenfeld takes snarky aim at Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins and her usual allies, defense lawyers, who have formed something of a circular firing squad. (Boston Herald)

With Gov. Charlie Baker in attendance — but no family or friends — 240 state troopers hold a graduation ceremony at Gillette Stadium. (Telegram & Gazette)

MEDIA

The Boston Globe makes some layoffs and cuts the company’s 401(k) contribution for non-unionized workers. (CommonWealth)