Is fever the first symptom that onset's when you have a novel coronavirus infection? should i start taking my temperature a few times a day to establish a baseline against which to monitor for fever? that way i could know early in the infection.

A few times: You may like to check your baseline temperature a few times to record your normal range, but it is not necessary to monitor a few times per day. The illness may rapidly develop other symptoms including dry cough and shortness of breath. If you have a known contact with COVID-19, please remain inside and notify your physician.

Fever of COVID-19: More than 80% of patients will have fever during the course of infection. However, fever is uncommonly the first symptom of the infection. Most people with COVID-19 initially present symptoms similar to a common cold like fatigue, sneezing, sore throat. Fever usury occurs after 3-5 days of initial presentation. Taking temperature certainly can be used to screen for infection.