What are you talking about, things were absolutely shut down. If you recall, we've been in agreement on most Covid related stuff, but I argued at the end of April (iirc) that they had better tone down the extreme lockdown or people will throw out ALL precautions.
How did that turn out? It took a certain meshugeneh who "had just enough" to unlock playgrounds. I wonder what ever happened with him?
Let me clarify. Saying 99% were shut down for months is false. By Shavuos, every shul was packed, per reports here. That didn't happen overnight. There was chatter here starting already on Pesach about people ignoring violations, even if the shuls weren't officially open.
My point isn't to argue the little details. The point is, there has been widespread ignoring of the rules and regs for a very, very long time in our communities. We can take issue with the current situation without trying to whitewash our past misbehavior.
And yes, your take on the restrictions back then was quite on point.