With Covid-19 cases on the Island holding firm, leaders at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital announced their own first steps for reopening the facility at a press briefing Wednesday, saying pediatric visits would be available next week and other elective procedures available as soon as June 1.

Hospital leaders also praised the broader reopening plan Gov. Charlie Baker released on Monday, calling it prudent. And they once again questioned the efficacy of antibody testing.

The press briefing was hosted by hospital president and chief executive officer Denise Schepici, chief medical officer Dr. Pieter Pil and spokesman Katrina Delgadillo.

As of Wednesday morning, the hospital has not reported a new positive coronavirus case for four days. The hospital has tested 742 patients for the virus, with 25 positives, 689 negatives and 28 pending. Two other Vineyard residents have tested positive for the virus off-Island, and four have tested positive for antibodies, bringing the total case count on-Island to 31.

The state Department of Public Health and National Guard also plan to test all 100-plus employees and residents of the Windemere nursing facility later this week, officials said.

No one is currently hospitalized with the virus.

Ms. Schepici praised Islanders for their resilience during the pandemic, and said social-distancing efforts had helped keep coronavirus case numbers limited.

“It’s just been great to see those numbers staying pretty constant, and I think that’s due to everybody still playing their part,” she said.

The group also announced that the hospital would begin the first phase of its “reimagination of care” plan, saying more clinical procedures and services for priority care, pediatric care and high-risk patient care would be available starting Memorial Day.

The hospital shuttered its building to non-essential care in mid-March after the pandemic hit, sequestering the facility and creating a separate triage tent outside the emergency room. All elective surgeries were cancelled and patient-care services plummeted.

Beginning next week, the hospital will open for pediatric health visits and immunizations, see diabetes patients again and will reintroduce diagnostic mammography. By June 1 colonoscopies and endoscopies will begin again, along with removal of cancerous skin lesions and treatment for symptomatic hernias.

Rehabilitation and physical therapy visits will reopen for select patients.

Patient visits and appointments will be prioritized according to need.

Dr. Pil said the gradual reopening of the hospital will come with long-term changes to the facility and the way people receive care. Everyone, including employees, patients, vendors and visitors will be screened with temperature checks before entering the building. He said the building is swamped with hand sanitizer, masks are now universal and plexiglass walls have been put up to protect patients and staff. Some patients will even wait for appointments in their car.

“One of the biggest changes is that patients’ vehicles have become the waiting room,” Dr. Pil said. “As we go forward in the world of Covid, the way we approach care will be different for the foreseeable future. We’re not really recovering from anything, we’re not really reopening — we’ve always been open — but we are reimagining how we can deliver care.”

Dr. Pil also explained the hospital’s stance on antibody testing, saying that it wasn’t yet a useful epidemiological tool because of the level of false-positives and lack of information regarding immunity. He said more than 100 vendors are making the antibody test and that none have been evaluated by the FDA.

“It’s not ready for prime-time yet,” Dr. Pil said. “The information is confusing and I don’t think it is helpful.”

Outside of the hospital, Ms. Schepici continued to preach caution for Islanders as she looked to the summer, praising Governor Baker’s focus on science and data in his gradual reopening plan for the state. While she acknowledged that it was disappointing for business owners, she said the virus remains a lasting, prolonged threat and that those within the medical community would be maintaining their surge capacity preparations.

“I think the governor is being very, very prudent,” Ms. Schepici said. “The phasing of his plan made complete sense to us. And I’m very supportive.”

She added:

“We know we are not out of the woods with this virus yet.”