Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the development process and the effectiveness of the EISS (epidemiological investigation support system), which prevents the spread of infectious diseases like a novel corona virus disease, COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach This study identified the existing epidemiological support system for MERS through prior research and studied the case of the development of a newly developed epidemiological support system based on cloud computing infrastructure for COVID-19 through inter-ministerial collaboration in 2020. Findings The outbreak of COVID-19 drove the Korean Government began the development of the EISS with private companies. This system played a significant role in flattening the spread of infection during several waves in which the number of confirmed cases increased rapidly in Korea, However, we need to be careful in handling confirmed patients’ private data affecting their privacy.