We had a four week (incredibly strict) lockdown in 2020 and then life returned to normal because we eliminated the virus. In late 2021 the delta variant ruined all that and the government attempted a half-assed lockdown which didn’t do much and that’s where a lot of the anger came from.
Our restrictions were basically lifted after four weeks in 2020 because that was enough to eliminate the virus. I think going a bit authoritarian with the lockdown maximised our freedom in the long run that year.