hereAt the height of the outbreak, GMP lost about 20 per cent of staff through illness and people isolating.Today that figure is 3.5 per cent, about 380 police officers and staff who have either tested positive, have symptoms or have been close to someone who has tested positive.When a fifth of the force was off, reported crime had plummeted by a third so the absence was not as significant as it could have been.Now reported crime in Greater Manchester is almost at the level it was before coronavirus swept across the nation.It means the current GMP staff absences are being felt acutely, with investigations for lesser crimes being put on hold.ACC Bailey said: "We are having to make serious decisions about where we put our resources at this.