Health care workers at two Nevada County skilled nursing facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, hospital officials said.

One employee at Golden Empire Nursing and Rehab Center in Grass Valley tested positive two weeks ago, according to the facility’s infection preventionist Beth Lewis. The health care worker never entered the facility and their infection was travel-related, Lewis said.

According to Harry Weis, Tahoe Forest Hospital District president, two employees at the hospital’s skilled nursing facility tested positive and have both since recovered. The cases — one in late June and the other in early July — were both caught by the hospital’s routine testing protocols for workers.

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The skilled nursing facility typically tests a quarter of all staff and residents each week, cycling through the whole facility each month. But Weis said since the first positive result they have begun testing all employees and residents every two weeks.

“One you have a couple of positive tests, it ramps things up,” he said.

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Both those cases were associated with family or community interactions and not associated with the heath care system, Weis said.

There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 among skilled nursing facility residents.

Nevada County’s other skilled nursing facilities — Crystal Ridge Care Center, Wolf Creek Care Center, and Spring Hill Manor Convalescent Hospital — report no cases among health care workers or residents.

Interim Public Health Officer Dr. Richard Johnson said earlier this month that there have been a number of cases among health care workers at both hospitals, but no outbreaks of cases among workers or patients.

“There certainly is a great risk for those putting their neck out on the front line and helping us all stay safe,” Johnson said.

John Orona is a staff writer for The Union, a sister publication of the Sierra Sun. Contact him by email jorona@theunion.com or call 530-477-4229.