CASE PRESENTATION: A 53-year-old man presented to the ED at a time of low severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), prevalence and reported 2 weeks of progressive shortness of breath, dry cough, headache, myalgias, diarrhea, and recurrent low-grade fevers to 39°C for 1 week with several days of recorded peripheral capillary oxygen saturation of 80% to 90% (room air) on home pulse oximeter . Five days earlier, he had visited an urgent care center where a routine respiratory viral panel was reportedly negative . A COVID-19 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test result was pending at the time of ED visit . He reported a past medical history of gastroesophageal reflux disease that was treated with famotidine . Travel history included an out-of-state trip 3 weeks earlier, but no recent international travel.