Many workers in this country do not risk the sack for excessive time off work because they work in the public sector. This is why sickness levels for these staff are always disgracefully high, swine flu or no swine flu.
Bonnes vacances!
Actually, in my experience it's companies themselves causing the panic, not individuals. They're so terrified of swine flu that if you so much as sneeze you are obliged to stay at home for 5 days, and the people sitting next to you also need to go for 3, whether you have symptoms or not.
Clearly there are probably plenty of people making the most of this, but hey - it's the Ashes.