After a three-case jump over the weekend, the number of Covid-19 patients on the Island who have tested positive held steady at 22 for the second day in a row on Monday, despite an expansion of testing at both the local and state level.

In their daily web update, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reported that as of 10:30 a.m., 476 patients had been tested for the virus, with 22 positives, 450 negatives and four pending.

The hospital reported that zero patients were currently hospitalized with the virus.

The number of people tested for the virus at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has increased in recent days, with nearly a quarter of all people tested since the outbreak began coming over the past week. The increase matches a similar increase in testing throughout the state.

During his daily press briefing, Gov. Charlie Baker said that an expansion of testing remained a core focus of his administration’s response to the pandemic. On Sunday, the state tested 16,000 people for the virus — the most in a single day since the outbreak began.

Statewide, the Department of Public Health reported 1,000 new coronavirus cases on Monday —their lowest reported daily total since April 5. The state has now reported over 69,000 positive cases since the outbreak began. The DPH reported 86 new deaths on Monday, bringing the total to 4,090.

In an interview with the Gazette on Friday, hospital clinicians said that while MVH continued to adhere to strict testing criteria set by their parent network Partners Health Care and the CDC that limited who could be tested, those criteria had loosened last week.

“Partners has made the criteria much more liberal,” said Dr. Steven Feder, a pediatrician who heads the primary care department at the Vineyard hospital.

Last week, Partners lowered the high-risk age group from 70 to age 50, and is now allowing more symptomatic outpatients to receive tests who request them through their primary care physician, according to Dr. Feder.

Individuals on-Island who are exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19, including a cough, sore throat and shortness of breath, are required to contact their primary care physician to be screened for testing. Patients without a primary care physician are strongly encouraged to call the hospital’s screening hotline at 508-684-4500, which is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m and on weekends from 8:30 am to 5 pm.

Dr. Feder said the hospital remains concerned about an influx of patients requesting tests, and that both supplies and manpower remained limited — especially as summer approaches.

“What the hospital wants to be careful of is that we know we are going to get deluged in the coming months with having to do much, much more testing,” Dr. Feder said.

“It is a good thing, but we are anticipating an incredible surge in the amount of testing and how busy the ED is going to be.”

In his briefing Monday, Governor Baker said that the state was trending in the “right direction,” with hospitalizations decreasing, but cautioned against a rapid re-opening of businesses. Last week, Gov. Baker extended the statewide stay-at-home order until May 18 — a date that he said on Monday was serving as a deadline for his administration’s report on a phased-reopening of businesses.

“There won’t be anyone starting a firing gun on May 18 and saying everybody off to the races,” Governor Baker said.

The statewide report from the governor comes as towns on-Island voted late last week and on Monday to extend their own, stricter stay-at-home orders until the 18th, as well as implement new phases of their relaxed construction guidelines. Edgartown and Tisbury approved the stay-at-home extension on Monday, following some up-Island towns last week.

Towns are also mulling guidelines that will allow housecleaners to go back to work, with similar restrictions as construction crews, and plan to vote next week on a “phase 1.5” of construction guidelines that will allow five-man crews on job sites.

On Wednesday, Governor Baker’s requirement that all residents who cannot socially distance wear a face covering will go into effect, following similar regulations already enacted by towns and transportation agencies throughout the Island.