A 37-year-old Navajo man hospitalized nearly two weeks because of the new coronavirus is urging tribal members to stay home during the pandemic.

Nelvin Clitso, a Cow Springs native, said he didn't heed advice from tribal leaders and health officials to stay home because he never imagined he could contract COVID-19.

At first, he wasn't sure if the new virus was even real because President Donald Trump initially downplayed the coronavirus and called it Democrats' "new hoax" at a Feb. 28 rally.

"I wasn't listening to whatever the newspaper or the news was saying to stay home," he said. "I thought it was just like Donald Trump was saying when that first coronavirus hit, he was saying that it was just only a hoax and I believed that."

Clitso said now that's he experienced the virus firsthand — making him the sickest he's ever been and possibly spreading to members of his family — he wants others to take the pandemic seriously. As of Wednesday, the Navajo Nation had 1,282 known cases and 49 confirmed deaths.

"People need to be alert of this coronavirus, wherever you are at, you gotta be much wiser," he said.

Moved back to Navajo Nation after furloughed from Grand Canyon job

Clitso moved back hometo Cow Springs after he was furloughed about mid-March from his job near Grand Canyon National Park. He was working at the time as a seasonal employee at Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters in Tusayan, about 190 miles from his hometown.

Cow Springs is an isolated community on the Navajo Nation about halfway between the better-known communities of Kayenta and Tuba City in Coconino County. It's also an hour drive from Chilchinbeto, which had the first identified case of COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation.

In the days prior to getting sick, Clitso said he would do chores around the house, take walks around the community or hitchhike to Tuba City to get groceries for his family, none of whom have a car. He said a friend gave him a mask but that'd he'd hardly wear it.

At the time, the Navajo Nation had in place a stay-at-home order requiring all residents to remain home and isolated except for essential activities, including grocery shopping. Clitso said he felt it was his responsibility to take care of his family by hitchhiking to buy them supplies.

His dad, older brother, sister and her husband and five kids also currently live in his family's Cow Springs home, he said. Many Navajo people live with multiple generations in one house, a fact that health officials say has fueled the spread of the virus there.

Clitso said around March 28 he began getting headaches, was coughing, had shortness of breath and developed a fever.

"At first, I was kind of hiding it, I didn't want to face it," he said. "I got really ill. That's when I got myself checked."

On April 1, Clitso said he tested positive for COVID-19 at Tuba City Regional Health Care, which is the nearest Indian Health Service hospital to Cow Springs. Over the next few days, Clitso said his symptoms continued to intensify, leading him to be hospitalized between April 6-19.

According to Clitso, he also has diabetes, which health officials have said is among other underlying medical conditions that raise the risk of patients with COVID-19 developing complications or dying.

Likely transmission during a ride home from the grocery store

While Clitso doesn't know exactly how he contracted the virus, he has his theories.

At first, he wondered if the COVID-19 virus was airborne because that's what he had been told.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, airborne transmission of the virus over long distances is unlikely. Instead, it's believed to spread mainly through respiratory droplets from an infected person who coughs or sneezes and is then inhaled into the lungs of another person within six feet.

The most likely reason, he said, was coming into contact about a month ago with a man he later learned tested positive for COVID-19. He was hitching a ride home from the grocery store at the time and knew the man from church, he said.

"I was trying to talk to him but I noticed something was wrong with him," Clitso said, adding that the man was not wearing a mask. "A week later people said he had coronavirus and he was in the hospital."

Clitso said Wednesday he has since learned that the man died.

It 'probably would've killed me'

"The coronavirus probably would've killed me if I didn't go to the hospital because I was really drained out. I can't describe it, it was just really unbelievable, like some evil spirits were coming into my body," he said.

At the hospital, Clitso said he was housed in a room with three other COVID-19 patients, which he assumed was done because it was a big room and the hospital appeared full. A couple of other COVID-19 patients at the hospital had rooms to themselves, he said.

Clitso said staff at the hospital treated him well — they gave him pills, although he couldn't recall what kind, and would place an ice pack on the back of his neck to help relieve his headaches. He was also given treatment to help his breathing, he said.

While he didn't have much of an appetite at the beginning of his stay, Clitso said he was fed healthy food like vegetables and fruits.

"I saw all these commercials with the pizza or the Popeyes chicken and I was like, 'Oh my God, I can't wait to get back up so I can get me something to eat,' " he said on Monday with a laugh.

A spokesperson at the hospital declined to comment, citing privacy laws.

Worried about spreading disease to family

He was released from the hospital on Sunday with an oxygen tank and what appears to be an oxygen concentrator, so that he can refill the oxygen tank at home. Clitso said he was staying alone in his dad's room because he was told to continue self-isolating at home for about another week.

"I'm kind of staying away from everybody right now," he said, adding that his family was being extra cautious. The tribe has also implemented nightly and weekend curfews for the month of April, requiring most residents to stay home except for emergencies.

Meanwhile, according to Clitso, his 66-year-old dad is currently hospitalized at Flagstaff Medical Center after also testing positive last week for COVID-19. He said due to limited cellphone service in Cow Springs and not having a car, it has been difficult for his family to get updated information related to his dad's health condition.

Clitso said on Wednesday that his dad was doing OK, but that he's worried other members of his family may get sick, too.

"I'm kind of thinking that I gave it to him," Clitso said. "I'm kind of blaming myself for what's happened and that just brings me down."

Clitso said he looks forward to getting out of self-isolation so he can find a new job and visit his 13-year-old son, who lives with his mom and couldn't visit for about a month while Clitso recovers from the virus.

"I have like four more days to really recover from this coronavirus, so I'm going to beat it," he said.

Reach the reporter at chelsea.curtis@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral today.