OLYMPIA — Though Gov. Jay Inslee offered a glimpse of a possible transition plan away from his shelter-at-home order, he warned Washingtonians during a Wednesday press conference that there is no clear end in sight.

Pointing to recent data indicating that the rate of new coronavirus infections is not increasing but may not decrease in the near term, Inslee applauded the efforts of Washingtonians who are staying home.

The governor said that if the state were to abandon the statewide social distancing strategy today or even weeks from now, infectious disease models predict that there would be an eventual surge in preventable deaths.

“We are not at a point where we can stop social distancing,” Inslee asserted.

Inslee said he is not sure when the right time to begin a transition will be. He said at this point, it won’t be at least until May 4, but warned that the state was not on track to meet that deadline.

Local health officials similarly expressed concerns about the progress made in rural Washington. Adams County Community Health Director Karen Potts said in an interview Wednesday that the county continues to see significant spikes in new cases and inconsistent compliance with the governor’s stay-at-home order.

“We have a lot of people who are very compliant and are doing a good job and I think that’s why our numbers aren’t worse than they are. But some didn’t get the message, or choose not to believe it, or whatever,” Potts said.

Inslee did not allude to any additional steps he is considering taking to reduce the spread of the virus. He said his office had not considered ordering the public to wear a face mask while outside of their homes.

But once the rate of transmission has been sufficiently decreased in the state, Inslee said there would be a transition with a gradual approach over multiple phases to allow people to go back to work, school, and gatherings.

The governor said he would reopen and allow specific activities in the opposite order in which he instituted the orders. First he will lift the “stay home, stay healthy,” order, then he will allow schools to resume classes, next he will allow bars, restaurants and recreational businesses to reopen before allowing large public gatherings.

When deciding the pace of the phased transition, Inslee said he and his team will “monitor and adapt” to what the data is indicating about COVID-19 activity in the state. And until then, he and his advisers will be thinking about ways to increase safety in schools and businesses.

Another part of the transition, Inslee explained, will be making sure that the resources for rapid testing and treatment exist to allow for a fire brigade-like health care response to individuals exhibiting symptoms. People with symptoms will have to be immediately isolated and have to have their previous contact with others tracked to predict how the virus could have spread to others. He said testing capacity will have to be even higher after the transition in order to stay ahead of the virus.

Much as he has through the entire response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Inslee reiterated that all Washingtonians can be leaders in the effort to slow the spread of the virus, and encouraged residents to take it “one day at a time.”

Emry Dinman contributed to this report.