The North West Regional and North West Private hospitals were forcibly shut down by the government, more than 5000 hospital employees and their families were sent into quarantine, and all 'non-essential' stores in the North-West forced to close.

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The state of Tasmania flexed powers it may not have even known it had, sending police to patrol the streets and knock on doors to ensure the community adhered to what was then the strictest public health rules in the country.

The extraordinary move was made in response to the biggest, fastest outbreak of COVID-19 Australia had seen up to that point.

It was an outbreak that struck the region at its core, attacking its biggest employer and the source of life-giving medical treatment for an overall elderly and vulnerable population.

But now, 365 days on, the hospital has once again become a source of hope on the Coast, a vaccine centre to fight against the very disease that shut it down a year ago.

The first whiff of COVID-19 wafted down to Tasmania in January 2020. It was the day before Australia Day, but not everyone was ready to party.

Tasmania's rock lobster industry had just collapsed, virtually overnight, after an unprecedented landslide of cancellations by buyers in China.

The Chinese government was at the time advising citizens not to travel or visit public places to stop the spread of a new virus known as COVID-19.

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In response, thousands of restaurants across China cancelled their orders for red rock lobster, much of which comes from Tasmania.

Life quickly moved on for those Tasmanians who didn't rely on selling food to China, safe in the knowledge the virus was thousands of kilometres away.

But the virus would soon be lapping the state's isolated shores once more, with the first case appearing on March 2 in a man who had travelled from Iran through Malaysia and Melbourne. The government had not yet declared a public health emergency.

Cases slowly continued to appear around the state every couple of days until, 20 days after the first case, two people from the North-West were confirmed to have the virus.

The state had recorded its first and second deaths by the end of March, now with about 69 people known to be affected.

As cases continued to snowball in April, two staff from the North West Regional Hospital returned positive tests on April 3.

By April 12, confirmed infections in the state stood at 144. Exactly half of these were linked to the North-West Coast. Five people had died from COVID-19, and four of those were from the North-West.

It was a mild Sunday afternoon, and Premier Peter Gutwein was giving one of his - by then daily - press conferences.

Thousands of Tasmanians were anxiously tuning in for daily health updates by that point, meaning thousands of North-West residents heard the dramatic news on April 12.

"We are in the fight of our life against the coronavirus and I again urge everyone to join the battle by staying home, to save lives," the premier said before announcing the two Burnie hospitals would be closed for deep cleaning, and that every single staff member and their families would be sent into quarantine for two weeks from their last shift.

The North-West went almost silent as hundreds of businesses from the eight municipalities shut their doors.

Tourist towns like Stanley and Strahan turned into ghost towns, left with only a supermarket and the odd cafe still running.

Essential services and isolated locals were forced to innovate, with doctors rolling out telehealth services, a creative Burnie man setting up an "Amazon-style" delivery system, and another setting up a website designed to help those in isolation.

In the meantime, rumours around the source of the outbreak flew, even making national news when chief medical officer Brendan Murphy repeated gossip about an illegal staff party.

It was revealed paramedics were completing 18 hour shifts with the closure of the NWRH and the Mersey's ED.

Elective surgery waiting lists ballooned out, and expectant mothers described being pregnant in the middle of an outbreak as an unsettling "rollercoaster".

Many North-West hospital workers let out a sigh of relief when an independent review into the outbreak was released in December, confirming that the outbreak had happened because of systemic issues including a lack of personal protective gear, and not as a result of risky behaviour and partying among staff.

Reviewer Greg Melick said the broader North-West community had acted responsibly during the outbreak.

"The outbreak could have been far worse if it was not for the sensible and mature co-operation of the community in Burnie," he said at the time.

A year on from the closures, and what was once the centre of a fatal outbreak has become a hub with the potential to lead the Coast back into something closely resembling normal life.

It was announced earlier this year that the North West Regional Hospital would serve as a vaccine hub to deliver thousands of doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca, themselves a testament to technological advancement and international cooperation.

However, the rollout itself has not been as smooth as some might have hoped, with concerns over a link to blood clotting making it impossible for Australia to meet its vaccine rollout timeline.

There were hopes that a widespread program would reopen Australia to the world by the end of the year, but that looks increasingly unlikely.

It may take a little longer yet, but if the last year had taught us anything, it's that the North-West has the resilience and strength of community to pull through.