Dr Hilary Jones has issued a stark reminder to the public as he pleads with 'selfish' coronavirus rule breakers to do the right thing.
The Good Morning Britain doctor was speaking following comments made by Victoria Derbyshire.
The presenter has apologised for saying she would "break the rule of six" to have her family of seven together this Christmas.
But Dr Hilary used the opportunity to remind the public, and those who are thinking of breaking the rules, of tragic statistics from the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: "I want people to remember that 630 healthcare workers sacrificed their lives in the first quarter of this year fighting coronavirus because they picked it up from patients in hospitals.
"Now, if we forget what the NHS has done so far and say 'Well, I don't care I'm going to take the risk and I'm prepared to do that' to me, that is a selfish way to go forward.
"I think we all have to remember we're only going to get through this if we're careful about how we behave, how we socially distance and how we protect ourselves and other people.
"That is the only way forward."
The GP and ITV doctor also spoke about a new report suggests Covid immunity may last for just a few months.
The new research by Imperial College London estimates that just 4.4 per cent of adults had some form of immunity against the virus in September when cases began to see huge rises.
"We need to distinguish between natural immunity and immunity that the vaccine might confer," Dr Hilary said on Tuesday's show.
"The research that's been done on 350,000 people being repeatedly tested over the course of time has shown that natural immunity, when you're exposed to the virus over a period of time, does tend to wane.
"So, being exposed to Covid-19 doesn't necessarily guarantee immunity going forward. Now, that’s a blow. We didn't want to hear that.
"Nor did we want to hear that the idea of herd immunity, which so many people have been relying on, that’s blown out of the water as well."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
