From January 2020 to April 13, 2021, Taiwan reported 1062 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths. Taiwan has been able to control the epidemic more effectively than many other countries in the Asian-Pacific region through a combination of measures including border control, testing and quarantine of individuals with history of contacts, at-home self-isolation, integration of immigration information with healthcare information and daily press conferences. Our containment strategy ensured the numbers of new cases per day remain single digits, the peak time is postponed, and the medical system is not overwhelmed. While the first response by primary healthcare effectively slowed down the epidemic, the Taiwan Medical Association (TMA) has devised a long-term strategy to handle the inevitable situation of community transmission. The plan involves a tiered primary healthcare network of community healthcare groups prepared clinics (CHGPC) and community screening stations (CSS) to treat patients with mild symptoms at the community clinics so hospitals and medical centers can focus on serious cases. Close coordination of hospitals and community care providers is a key to guard the medical system against possible collapse due to surprising outbreaks of unknown pathogens.