to make those improvements, a political gamble for the government. if it doesn't work it has got some distance, if it does work, who gets the credit, the government although city regions?— a prominent adviser to the government on covid—19 has said he is "very fearful" there will be another "lockdown christmas", as he urged the public to do everything possible to reduce transmission of the virus. professor peter 0penshaw, a member of the new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group, known as nervtag, said case numbers and death rates are currently "unacceptable". do everything possible in your control to try to reduce transmission. don't wait for the government to change policy. and the sooner we all act, the sooner we can get this transmission rate down, and the greater the prospect of having a christmas with our families. the actor alec baldwin was told a gun was safe moments before he fatally shot a crew member on the set of his new film. that's according to new documents filed as part of the ongoing police investigation into the killing in new mexico.