With the Department of Health (DOH) as chair, this inter-agency task force was intended to activate inter-sectoral collaboration to ensure preparedness and adequate response to assess, monitor, contain, control, and prevent the spread of infectious disease epidemics in the country.

On January 28, 2020, recognizing the threat of the novel coronavirus to the country, this inter-agency task force was activated with members including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department Foregin Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and Department of Tourism (DOT).

Recognizing the critical contributions of various government agencies in the collective fight against COVID-19, IATF Resolution No. 12, Series of 2020, expanded the membership of the IATF-EID to include the following agencies: Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), Office of the Cabinet Secretariat (OCS), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Agriculture (DA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel (OCPLC), Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), as well as the National Security Adviser.

To be able to respond to more localized issues and concerns, Regional Inter-Agency Task Force in their respective regions were also organized.

An inter-sectoral collaboration to establish preparedness and ensure efficient government response to assess, monitor, contain, control, and prevent the spread of any potential epidemic in the Philippines.