The veil between sick and well

The manager I go to at my library for issues of time off, whether for sickness, vacation, or hour adjusting complications that are far too technical for this space, is quite nice about it. I could rather go on for a bit about the evils of management, and how it's none of her business anyway, and how of course she should be nice about it, but this isn't that kind of post. I just appreciate how she is. It's one of her good qualities.

But though I would not change it, I recognize a perhaps unavoidable downside to this graciousness.

Yesterday, while at the front desk, this manager walked by my desk partner and asked her something something something cold something sinuses, and my ears perked up. It turned out that my front desk partner, working in closer than I like proximity to me, was walking around with a communicable disease!

I catch communicable diseases!

I hate communicable diseases!

So now these two have my full attention, and my manager is asking after my desk partner's health, which it turns out is not great. They go on for awhile in a non entertaining way about congestion. And then, finally, in parting, my manager thanks her for coming in anyway.

No, no, no, no, no!

Don't thank the person with a communicable disease for coming in! Say, instead, "We will be confiscating your sick time to distribute to your co-workers who know how to use it."

But sure, say it nicely.