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Dr Alan Billings, the region’s police and crime commissioner, said the public need a police force that is immune from the virus, adding that it is not in the public interest to have a police force that is “seriously debilitated by illness”.

“My own view is that we need those in the front line to be protected as soon as possible,” Dr Billings added.

“Front line officers come into contact with the public on a daily basis. Where there is a domestic incident, for example, they may have to enter a house where there may be children as well as adults.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings.

“When someone is arrested and taken to a custody suite, they and the custody officers, will be in close contact while processes are gone through. Officers are sometimes sent out of area to help other forces – mutual aid – places where the virus may be more virulent. In these and many other instances officers run the risk of contracting the virus and passing it to their colleagues and families and members of the public.

“We rely on the police not only to maintain law and order but also to be there when emergencies of all kinds arise – and we cannot predict what or when that may be. We need a force that is immune from coronavirus.”

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South Yorkshire cops must be vaccinated against Covid-19 to maintain law says police chief