Research published in The Lancet Global Health journal, estimates that it could cost low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) around US$52 billion (equivalent to US$ 8.60 per person) over four weeks to provide an effective health-care response to COVID-19, assuming each country's reproductive number remained unchanged.

However, the sizeable costs of a COVID-19 response in the health sector are likely to escalate if transmission increases — rising to as much as US$62 billion (US$ 10.15 per person) over four weeks under a scenario where current restrictions are relaxed and transmission increases by 50%. The main cost drivers were clinical case management (54% overall cost; e.g., field hospitals, biomedical equipment, drugs, safe burial teams), maintaining essential services (21%; e.g., coordination and outreach teams, salaries, rented ambulances), rapid response and case investigation (14%; e.g., contact-tracing teams), and infection prevention and control (9%; e.g., protective equipment, masks, hand-washing stations).

The results emphasise that critical components of health systems need to exist when an outbreak occurs – including healthcare staff, laboratories, and mechanisms for coordination – as these are essential to deliver an effective response.