Yeah, "calling out sick" allows for the possibility that people aren't really sick and there might be abuse of sick time happening for other reasons, like coordinated sick-out protests or just individuals being fed up.

In this case, the droves of people claiming sick time are most likely genuinely sick.

What might also be happening is that people are forced to call sick due to being tested positive or a close contact of one, even though they aren't actually feeling sick.

We're seeing this here in Spain a lot now. A bit higher up in this thread someone mentioned not cancelling a birthday because all the guests had COVID anyway. But work environments are more strict.

I have a feeling this is what they meant by stating it that way, not implying that the workers aren't actually sick. A case of COVID is easily verified anyway.

If they tested positive, they are sick.

There is a difference between testing positive for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material versus having the clinical disease COVID-19. The tests can report false positives, especially among convalescent patients. Many infections are asymptomatic so the patient is literally not "sick" (although they should generally not come into a workplace to avoid infecting others).

It’s NPR so not surprising it has this bias of catering to well off people being inconvenienced. NPR is a neoliberal leaning media company that likes to dress up and play progressive for donation purposes.

Their coverage of Bernie Sanders, or rather lack there of, in 2016, was very telling. Their public funding should be withdrawn as it very clear they are a partisan organization.

Don't say sorry, you're 100% correct. The article has the basic bias that labor supply is a right of business and anything that disrupts the supply of labor (at their collusion-rife wage depression) is the fault of the "lazy US worker".

Is there any mention of hazard pay, investing in more safety measures aside from a plexiglass screen, or anything else worker-focused?

No.

And this is NPR! NPR!!!!

There is no reliable scientific evidence that plexiglass screens actually increase worker safety. In some situations they might actually increase the risk of virus transmission by reducing airflow.

I don't think NPR has always been like this. I really started to notice it when Bernie looked like he might be a serious contender in the presidential race and NPR absolutely eviscerated him daily in favor of the various bobbleheads in suits that were also-rans with a tenth of his popularity.

Like someone below posted. Nice polite Republicans or republicans with a focus on diversity and inclusion.