“People are tired, exhausted, and weary of it all,” says Trent Murray, a reporter in Berlin. “The rolling extension of [Germany’s lockdown] has given the perception that it won’t ever end. I was excited thinking I could meet friends for a coffee soon, but now the [infection] numbers have gone up and it’s disheartening.”

Defne Cicek, 20, a student from Düsseldorf, is also frustrated. “For me, it feels like we’re going round in circles,” she says. “The future feels more uncertain than ever and it feels like we will never be able to go back to ‘normal’.”

Many have grown frustrated with Germany’s sluggish vaccine rollout, with just 8.69% of the population having received a first jab by Saturday. The latest issue of Spiegel magazine even laments “the new German incompetence” in regards to the slow pace. “Why are other countries faster?” the magazine asks.