DES MOINES, Iowa — Jonathan Delima remembers feeling a little bit "off" on March 13.
"I just felt like my head was a little bit woozy," he said.
He didn't think he had COVID-19, but since recommendations were already in place for Iowans to stay home if they were sick, he and his family decided to use it as a "practice run" and self-isolate.
"We eventually wound up setting up an appointment for me to go in just to double check, make sure it wasn't the flu, some other things," Jonathan explained.
The flu test came back negative, so his doctor decided to test him for the rapidly-spreading coronavirus. A few questions later, Jonathan was tested for COVID-19.
At that point, it had been almost two weeks since he started feeling symptoms.
He went home to continue to self-isolate until the test results came back.
There wasn't a direct line to where Jonathan could have contracted the virus, and public health officials still can't determine where or whom he contracted it from.
Jonathan's wife also got sick. Fortunately, both of them had mild symptoms—fevers, fatigue, coughing—that didn't require a hospital visit.
Doctors told them that if they experienced difficulty breathing they should contact them or, depending on the time of day, go directly to the emergency room.
They never experienced that, and they are grateful for it.
"And I think, like, the majority of people who may get affected and if they do show symptoms, the majority of go through some version of what happened with us where we're able to take care at home," he said.