Lee Hodson is enjoying his freedom after a 14-day stretch in self-isolation – but the Hamilton defender fears Scotland will be back in lockdown if others do not start following Government coronavirus rules.
The Accies full-back was forced to quarantine last month when his flat-mate, St Mirren goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, contracted Covid-19.
With cases continuing to rise across the country, football has proved it is not immune after Hamilton confirmed on Wednesday that a fourth member of Brian Rice’s squad has tested positive within the space of a fortnight.
The three previous cases turned out to be false positives but like Hodson – whose results were negative – they were ordered to isolate under Government rules aimed at curbing the pandemic’s spread.
Hodson knows the directives are stringent but the Northern Ireland international agrees with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that when it comes to the health of the nation, it is better to be safe than sorry.
“It’s been difficult,” he said. “Obviously you just want to train and play football but with the world we’re in at the moment with the pandemic, then everybody has to take precaution and follow the guidelines from the Government.
“I was in quarantine for 14 days. No player wants to miss games but people’s health is most important. The protocols are set by the Government and you have to take it seriously.
“I made sure I looked after my health and the health of the others around me. I didn’t want to put anyone in harm’s way, even though I tested negative.
“You can’t take any risks with this thing. We’ve seen all the statistics about death rates and people in hospital. It’s a serious pandemic and people can’t take it for granted they will be OK.
“You have to listen to the guidelines and start taking it seriously before there’s another major lockdown caused by people not listening.
“If we do that, the quicker we’ll get back to normal.”
Hodson and former Rangers team-mates Alnwick were both back in action at the weekend for their respective clubs.
And having sat out Hamilton’s win away to Livingston and a defeat at Kilmarnock, Hodson is eager to make up for lost time when Rice’s team travel to Hibernian on Friday night.
He said: “Jak and I were just both unfortunate. Unfortunately he tested positive and there’s nothing you can do in that situation.
“We didn’t actually see each other much. As I’d tested negative I was self-isolating in my bedroom mostly to make sure we kept that required distance between us.
“The main thing for Jak is that he came out of it healthy. He’s back playing now which is great.
“I kept myself ticking over with a few bits of exercise. Other than that it was a lot of Netflix to pass the time. It went by pretty quickly thankfully.
“I sat at home supporting the lads by watching the two games I missed on the laptop.
“We got a good result away at Livi and I’m buzzing to be back now. It would be massive if we could get a win on Friday night.”
