had it twice now:
December 2019 - everyone in my neighborhood had it and we didnt know covid was a thing. everyone was sick and felt like absolute dogshit for weeks. I used my patented method of fighting any illness - maintaining high hydration with a lot of sports drinks and soups with high concentrations of fresh vegetables, and several bottles of hotsauce (1 tbsp per hour, every hour, every day you are sick) - Iguana brand Habanero Pepper and Melindas brand Ghost Pepper usually. hotsauce makes your nose run like mad and having a lot of fluids in your body makes you not dehydrated when you're blowing your nose 24x7.
January 2024 - I was told that the symptoms were covid. I thought it was just a flu. used my patented method and I was sick for ~4 or 5 days, and not 100% again until a week or two later.
depends on the restaurant, each has their own vibe. most places, if you're spending a lot they wont care if you occupy a table for half of a day. some places will and you learn to avoid them.