Varun Grover has recovered from COVID-19 after spending 14 days in home isolation, he announced on social media today. The Mumbai-based writer and comedian’s illness was not public knowledge till the announcement, which was accompanied by an in-depth account of Grover’s experience during the 19 days since he first showed symptoms, as well as a checklist of essential items for home isolation. The post, titled ‘The Black Swan Descends — My Experience of Surviving Coronoavirus’ is available on Medium.

“It’s a slightly complicated illness to navigate — even when one suffers mild symptoms — because of its two-fold obstacle race,” he writes. “One, the patient has to focus on a strict discipline to get better and two, the patient has to make sure they don’t infect anybody else. Which means very limited & strictly protected contact with the caregiver — and that makes it a very lonely battle against a very unpredictable virus. In that sense, it’s also a very bureaucratic illness — the days of recovery are spent in a long list of detailed, repetitive processes.”

Grover, who says he very diligently followed all the social distancing best practices recommended by experts, also puts forward two (unconfirmed) theories about how he got infected despite these precautions. He also thanks the BMC, his building society, and his doctors for helping him and his uninfected partner Raj Kumari get through the ordeal, which included a forced separation with his beloved cat.

“The vaccine still seems a long way away and till then, prevention is the only cure,” he sums up. “So please—mask-up, maintain social distance, and practice strict hand-wash hygiene. Because 2020 is bad enough already.”

You can read the entire post here, and watch Grover’s virtual standup set for the inaugural Screenwriters Association Award, recorded while he was symptomatic, below: