The director and head coach of FC Bascome Bermuda has vowed to “go the extra mile” to safeguard his players from Covid-19.

Andrew Bascome was forced to shut down operations last Friday after being advised by health authorities that he had been in contact with someone who had tested positive for the coronavirus.

“I was contacted by the health ministry that I had been in contact with someone that was positive,” Bascome said. “They advised me to quarantine right away, so what we done was shut down the whole programme just to be on the safe side.

“It was the right decision to make because I didn’t know what status I had and the last thing I wanted to do was go and infect someone knowing that I had been asked to quarantine.

“I followed the protocol right away and we shut everything down and the only time I have been out is to go and get my test.”

Bascome has not tested positive.

“I got my results back from my test that were negative, but I still have to quarantine,” he added. “I feel good and I am in good spirits.

“It’s not dragging me down or anything like that and everyone has been wishing me well and hoping that everything goes all right.”

FC Bascome Bermuda are the second football club after North Village to have been affected significantly by Covid-19.

Village were forced to suspend all training and games involving their under-5 and under-11 Red teams for two weeks as a precautionary measure after two players and a coach were linked with schools exposed to the coronavirus.

When asked has shutting down operations been frustrating, Bascome added: “It is what it is and I just go with the flow.

“It’s all about adapting. You have to adapt to the environment and situation and then you try and find a way to exist and survive because that’s important.

“I am just trying to find ways to move forward and creating a safe environment.”

Regular testing of coaching staff is among the new safety protocols Bascome is looking to implement when his programme resumes.

“When you are dealing with kids, I think it’s important to go that extra mile to guarantee their safety,” he said.

“So I am going to get myself tested more consistently and will be asking that of the coaches as well.

“We have to tighten up safety protocols and be more vigilant and at this point even coach with masks on.

“I know it’s difficult, but is something we are going to have to do because the children’s safety and health is my primary concern, and nothing gets in the way of that.

“I don’t care how uncomfortable or whatever the process is, I will do whatever I have to do to try to create a more safe environment.”

Meanwhile, Bascome remains optimistic that scheduled football camps over the upcoming school Christmas break will go ahead as planned.

“We have a couple of technical camps that are planned and of course we are going to have to respect social distancing,” he said. “A lot of the work will be done with individual technique and we’re only allowed 20 players on the field at a time.

“It’s a lot of individual stuff like passing and receiving and the boys are not going to be making any contact.”