A worker and two patients at Maui Memorial Medical Center tested positive for COVID-19 as the state reported a record-breaking 355 new cases Thursday, including seven on Maui.

Maui Health spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda confirmed the cases Thursday and said that the hospital was still trying to determine the source of the patients’ infections. Both were isolated in the Wailuku Tower “warm unit” for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients.

As for the health care worker, Dallarda said the hospital is working with the state Department of Health “to confirm if this is community acquired.” She said the worker is currently quarantined at home.

All are from the same med surge unit in Maui North, and the two patients were identified through contact tracing.

Workers or patients who have been identified as having been in prolonged contact with the COVID-positive worker or patients have been or will be tested, Dallarda said, though she did not provide a number of potentially exposed individuals.

“Any employee who feels they may have been potentially exposed will also be tested,” she said.

When asked if the hospital was regularly testing employees, Dallarda said that “the hospital continues to assess and screen any employee that is in need of testing.”

She said that Maui Health follows and exceeds the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that outline four situations for testing considerations, including if the health care worker has signs or symptoms consistent with COVID-19; if the worker is asymptomatic with known or suspected exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19); if the worker is asymptomatic without known or suspected exposure to SARS-CoV-2 for early identification in special settings, such as nursing homes; and if the worker has been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection to determine when they are no longer infectious.

Dallarda said an advanced practice provider is available to employees who need testing and that the health screening tent is still set up outside the Emergency Department.

“We actively screen and test employees that fall within the four guidelines above and for employees who work in high risk areas, such as our warm unit,” she said. “With low community incidence of COVID-19 and almost zero positive or PUI (persons under investigation) patients in our warm unit, testing employees in high risk areas was not needed; however, as the cases have increased we will be testing based on criteria above and beyond.”

On Thursday, every county reported new cases of COVID-19, with 343 on Oahu, seven on Maui, four on Hawaii island and one on Kauai.

On Oahu, 86 of the new cases were at the Oahu Community Correctional Center, where the cluster had grown to at least 116 cases. Another 20 cases were under investigation at a men’s shelter in Kalihi, while 11 cases have been associated with government employees at Honolulu Hale.

There have now been 4,312 cases statewide, including 3,900 on Oahu, 198 in Maui County (including two on Molokai and none on Lanai), 139 on Hawaii island and 52 on Kauai. Twenty-three residents have been diagnosed out of state.

The deaths of two more Oahu men over the age of 60 brought the statewide death total to 40, including 33 on Oahu, six on Maui and one Kauai resident out of state.

With the surge in cases, Gov. David Ige said during a news conference Thursday afternoon that he is looking to postpone the pretravel testing program slated to start on Sept. 1. The plan would allow travelers who test negative for COVID-19 to bypass the 14-day trans-Pacific travel quarantine.

“I know that going backwards will cause further harm to our economy, but we have always said that the health and safety of our community will be the highest priority, and as we have seen, this rapid increase in cases has put significant stress on our hospitals and our health care system,” Ige said.

He said that no decision has been made yet and that the state wants to monitor “another few days of data to see what the impact of the increased restrictions have been on Oahu.”

If measures such as the newly reinstated interisland quarantine do not help to control the virus, “we will have no choice but to look at more restrictions,” which could include going back to stay-at-home orders, Ige added.

The governor has also been discussing next steps with Neighbor Island mayors.

“The virus prevalence is not as high on the Neighbor Islands, and so they would want the ability to continue where they’re at,” Ige said. “They are evaluating further restrictions, but other than the Neighbor Island . . . 14-day mandatory quarantine, they would like to keep conditions where they are.”

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said that “Maui remains well-positioned overall,” with nine of 29 intensive care unit beds filled and none from COVID patients. Of the 28 available ventilators on island, three are in use and none from COVID.

Rates of hospitalization and the need for ventilators have been very different on Oahu than the Neighbor Islands. On Maui, there are 35 active cases, with none actively hospitalized and none on ventilators “unless that’s changed in the last few hours,” Green said Thursday afternoon. Hawaii island had 18 active cases, with one currently hospitalized and no one on a ventilator due to COVID. Kauai had six active cases with no one in the ICU or on ventilators. Oahu, by contrast, had 28 COVID-positive cases with 22 on ventilators.

Statewide, 137 out of 244 ICU beds are in use (56 percent), with 29 of them for COVID patients. Meanwhile, 73 out of 459 ventilators are in use (16 percent), with 22 for COVID patients.

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.