It began with a visit to Northern Italy in late February.

By early March, three generations of the Garofalo family had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus: Marco, a 29-year-old Canadian citizen now living in Amsterdam, his father Flavio, 56, who lives in Naarden, a commuter town outside of Amsterdam, and Alberto, 85, who lives in Verbania, in Northern Italy.

Early interventions, including self-isolating before a diagnosis was made, prevented the situation from spreading to other family members and co-workers.

Below, an anatomy of how COVID-19 took down one family — and how they stopped it from becoming worse.

February 20: A trip to Italy

Flavio Garofalo, 56, travelled from his home in the Netherlands to Verbania, Italy, to help his father, Alberto, 85, pack up to prepare for an impending move. When he arrived, he noted there were 16 cases of COVID-19 in Italy, but they were far away from his father’s home.

When he left days later, there were 300 cases in Italy.

“I left worried about him (Alberto), but I knew he was going to leave soon” to his new home in Southern Italy, said Flavio, adding that he thought his dad would be safer there.

“At the time, we didn’t think this was going to become this big.” Flavio spoke to the Star from self-quarantine in the Netherlands.

Late February: Return to the Netherlands, and the first onset of symptoms

Flavio arrived back in the Netherlands on Feb. 28, via Zurich. His son, Marco, a lawyer who graduated from McGill University in 2015, picked him up that night at the airport.

Marco, too, was prepping for a move, out of his parents’ home in Naarden into an apartment in Amsterdam. The next day, Feb. 29, he and Flavio began moving Marco’s things into the apartment. Flavio was feeling a little dizzy, so Marco drove.

The next day, March 1, Flavio was supposed to return to Amsterdam but he decided he felt too ill. That afternoon, he began experiencing a chill and shivers, and after taking his temperature discovered he had a fever.

“That’s when I first started thinking, hmm this is strange,” Flavio said.

He still didn’t think he had COVID-19 because he thought he’d barely been in contact with anyone in Italy — he’d spent most of his time packing boxes in his father’s apartment, he said.

Flavio called the Netherlands’ health authorities and, because of his recent trip to Italy, they said they would come to his home and test him for COVID-19. Meanwhile, that night, Flavio got a call from his father, Alberto, back in Italy.

“He said: ‘Don’t get worried, but I have a fever.’ ”

March 2 and 3: Flavio tests positive and Marco begins experiencing symptoms

Marco attempted to stay away from his father. They’d spent much of the last two days together, and he knew it was likely he’d catch what his father had.

Less than 24 hours later, Marco began experiencing a headache and felt “loopy.” He assumed he was coming down with a fever, but was advised by health authorities not to take his temperature because his father had used the thermometer.

On the morning of March 2, the health authority came by Flavio’s home and administered a test by swabbing his throat and inside his nose. According to Flavio, the health workers told him they didn’t believe, based on his symptoms, that he had COVID-19.

The next day, at 10 p.m. on March 3, they called and told him he’d tested positive.

“It was quite a surprise,” Flavio said. “The very first hours felt very strange. From what I was reading I thought it was a death sentence. Then of course you rationalize it, you know, (thinking): ‘You’re in good health, your temperature has gone down, you’ll probably be able to pull through.’ And exactly that’s what happened.”

March 4 to 6 — Marco and Alberto are tested

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Following Flavio’s diagnosis, the following morning, on March 4, health officials returned to the family home in Naarden to test Marco.

In Italy, health officials had initially said Alberto didn’t need to be tested. Flavio’s positive results changed that, and Italy’s health authority soon arrived at Alberto’s home to administer a test which came back positive.

By the time Marco’s result came back on March 6, it confirmed what the family had by this point been expecting: he had COVID-19 just like his father and grandfather.

What were the symptoms?

All Garofalo men experienced a fever. Marco and Flavio say their temperature spiked for a couple of days only; for Alberto, who is 85, the fever is ongoing but mostly mild.

The men also experienced muscle aches and fatigue. Marco said he briefly experienced a “crushing” headache and sore throat.

How are they holding up in quarantine?

Alberto is alone in Italy — “not an ideal situation,” Flavio said. His move to the south has been put on hold, and he is being taken care of by others, including a neighbour who is cooking for him.

“Our main concern was to keep him hydrated, keep him fed. And letting him rest,” Flavio said.

Marco’s move to Amsterdam, out of his parents’ home in Naarden, has been delayed while he stays in quarantine with his father. The two of them have been working from home, spending time in the garden, thoroughly cleaning the home, and “sleeping a lot,” said Marco.

“We are both very active. Not being able to do any exercise — you really miss it,” said Flavio.

How did they avoid passing COVID-19 to others. What are their take-aways from having it?

At the onset of Flavio’s symptoms on March 1, both he and Marco realized they should attempt to stay away from others. Each advised their employers and opted to work from home.

By the time Flavio’s wife arrived back from a trip to Canada and Marco’s fiancee returned from Paris — both on March 3 — both Flavio and Marco were quite ill. The women opted to stay away and instead crashed at Marco’s new Amsterdam apartment.

“We’ve been quite lucky that they have been not exposed to us,” said Marco, noting that if either woman had arrived back in the Netherlands even a day earlier, the story could have been different.

Reflecting on the last two weeks, Marco said he’s seen the best and the worst of people. Some neighbours expressed concerns about Flavio and Marco remaining in the neighbourhood, even though they are staying in the house and garden.

Other friends, neighbours and colleagues have brought groceries and made food “and that has been very touching,” Marco said.

“In times like this, we have certain reactions. And I think it’s worth pausing to take a moment to think about who we are and what we stand for, and act in accordance to that — not our first gut reaction, which is of fear.”