It is now more than a year since Bavarian Premier Markus Soder said "We cannot wait endlessly," as the state plunged into Germany's first curfew from midnight on March 20, 2020.
Germany had close to 20,000 positive cases, the majority of which were in Bavaria, where the country's first infected person was detected in late January.
A year on, half of the state has incident rates above the benchmark 100 per 100,000, pointing towards the suspension of any easing and the reimplementation of full lockdown.
Bavaria has a reputation as being the most conservative state in Germany and it came as little surprise that it was the first to impose a lockdown with the strictest measures.
Across the country, EU borders, schools, and all non-essential shops had already been closed to try curb the spread of the virus. Bavaria went a step further, telling people to work from home, not to meet socially and not to leave the house unless absolutely necessary – such as for work, a doctor's appointment or for food or medicine. Violating these orders could result in fines as high as $30,000.
Two days later, much of the rest of the country followed suit by heading into lockdown.
The state mandated nose and mouth covering when in enclosed public spaces while barrier tape, boxes and clear shields were erected in front of cashiers at supermarkets and pharmacies to ensure distance is maintained.
Bavaria also began regularly testing people for COVID-19.
While the economic and physiological effects of lockdown started to weigh heavily, protests began erupting across the country, critical of the government's unilateral decisions.
Yet to the rest of the world, all looked under control. Germany and in particular Bavaria was being praised for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic with a successful track and trace program. Anyone in contact with a COVID-19 positive individual was contacted and told to enter a 14-day lockdown, not to contaminate others.
Bavaria has a rising number of infections and could head back into lockdown. /CGTN
Gradually things opened up again in mid-May and stayed that way until October, when the second wave of COVID-19 infections led Bavaria to reimpose curfews in some districts, making it the first in Germany to go back into lockdown.
With the number of daily infections topping 19,000, the country's track and trace program was becoming overwhelmed and much of the country went into what was called a "light lockdown." On November 2, restaurants, cafes and pubs across the country closed for what, at the time, was to be a month.
Then in early December, Bavaria declared a state of disaster and Soder announced tougher new restrictions as infection rates were "simply not going down."
Stricter rules were placed on border traffic, night curfews were imposed, nonessential shops were again closed and high school students began part-time homeschooling again – all measures representing a repeat of the spring.
By Christmas, Germany was facing its highest daily new-case rate yet at 36,000 and it proved to be the most deadly month for the country with ICU capacity at "critical" levels.
To the relief of many, two days later, on December 27, the country's vaccination campaign began, but its roll-out has been sluggish at best.
By February, Bavaria was facing the threat of newly discovered COVID-19 mutations in neighboring Czechia and the Austrian Alpine State of Tyrol – leading Soder to defy EU recommendations by closing the borders with them.
It wasn't until early March that Bavaria began loosening some of its restrictions, first allowing hairdressers to re-open and students to return to part-time face-to-face schooling.
After lengthy talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of all 16 states, a gradual reopening plan was announced in line with mass testing. Bookstores, flower shops and some nonessential stores in Bavaria began welcoming customers again.
Yet part of the easing measures included the application of an "emergency brake" in areas where incident rates rise above 100 per 100,000 inhabitants over a seven-day consecutive period.
It's now a decision Chancellor Merkel and federal heads will review on Monday whether the country will impose a new lockdown.
