Paying people to not (come into) work is pretty much critical to not getting a huge number of people (not necessarily the same people!) killed in a pandemic.

Surely you agree there are some workers to whom that does not apply? I'm fairly sure we can't send all the utility workers home, can we?

If it's pandemic, the infected workers have to be sent home to avoid infecting others. This is actually even more important for the essential workers. Otherwise you end up with them all off sick at once.

There's literally no-one here disputing that sick workers should get to stay home. What's being discussed is the proposition that healthy workers who decide to self-isolate should be paid to do so.

If you don't pay them to stay home they'll come back to work sick and infect others. Not everyone can rely on a hefty savings to pay their rent.

Then who is going to work if you can get paid for not working ?