The Taiwan government classified COVID‐19 as a notifiable infectious disease on 15th January, and the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officially activated the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on 20th January. A series of clear policies, and standard operation procedures (SOPs) were regularly announced and strictly executed to prevent nosocomial infections and community outbreaks. These SOPs target surveillance and containment, case identification, resource reallocation and quarantining. These procedures included a national public policy on face masks, which temporarily prohibited the export of masks, implemented a citizen ID‐based mask rationing system, and established a public‐access mask pre‐order eMask website (https://emask.taiwan.gov.tw/msk/index.jsp; Taiwan Centers for Disease Control 2020b). The government’s pre‐emptive measures and centralized coordination of surgical‐mask manufactures have been successful in ensuring adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers to date.