Colleague's polite way is "Get the fuck out of here! You have sick leave, USE IT!" They get ruder from there until you do, in fact, get the fuck out of here.

But the airborne RG3 pathogen is approved for civilian mass transmission.

Appropriate.

I am so glad there is less need for this since the pandemic. We have sick leave but certain persons still felt the need to come in in the before times. Now they’ve mostly straightened up and flown right and stay home or mask the eff up if truly need go come in (happens occasionally).

The problem is that folks have Scarcity Mindset when it comes to sick leave: "But what if I *need* it later?" Especially with the small minimal amount that is required by the state.

I have also handed coworker a mask. "Here."

In one company I worked for pre-pandemic, if someone ordinarily in the office called into a meeting instead and said, "I wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home," everyone in the conference room would say, "Thank you," to that person. The positive reinforcement made the approved behavior clear.