MEERUT: Piyush Vashist, 29, will not forget the weeks leading to his 30th birthday, which falls on April 18. Never diagnosed with Covid-19, his quarantine just doesn’t seem to end, even after two months.Piyush, a software engineer in a Gurugram firm, was one of the 3,700 passengers on-board the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship which at that time — in February — carried the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside mainland China. Over 700 people aboard the luxury liner had contracted the virus then. After spending 23 days of the quarantine period on the ship, he was allowed to return to India. But soon after landing, Piyush was taken to a government facility in Manesar for another 14 days. That was not the end of it.Piyush returned to Meerut and was advised to spend another fortnight locked inside his house. And then, before his self-imposed quarantine could end, the nation went into lockdown.“And all this when I never tested positive for the disease,” said Piyush, who is currently working from home for his companyRecalling the ordeal, he said, “I had boarded the ship on January 25. And quarantine in the ship started on February 3 after one of the passengers, who disembarked, was later found to be Covid-19 positive. I was kept in the ship till February 26, for 23 days. I was again in quarantine after reaching India on February 27 at the Manesar facility. It ended on March 12. I returned to Meerut on March 13. But again I was told to be in quarantine for another 14 days. The 14-day period ended on March 27. And now I can’t go out due to the lockdown till April 15. It’s a long, long journey ahead.”His travails notwithstanding, Piyush cautions people against taking the contagious disease lightly. “From my nearly two-month-long quarantine period, all I have learnt is that if anyone has coronavirus-like symptoms, he should inform concerned officials immediately so that steps can be taken to contain the disease and stop its spread,” he said.