The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic ushered unprecedented and abrupt changes into the traditional government operations. This has necessitated innovative government functions, policies and processes during and post the COVID-19 period to maintain public service delivery. Accordingly, the unmitigated spread of COVID-19 brought enormous costs for public resources. COVID-19 brought a litmus test of public sector disaster management's efficiency in various dimensions, which affect inter alia the national government, the provincial government, local government, and state-owned entities with varying degrees of repercussions. In a swift intervention, the South African government established a COVID-19 Command Council tasked with providing regular advisory services to the President and his Executive. Other strategic public administration measures include a lockdown with accompanying curfew and economic shutdown as of 26 March 2020. This came with sacrifices and costs to society, business and the government that include the curtailing of some business activities such as the sale and transportation of alcohol and cigarettes, and the limiting of social behavioural patterns, among others. Furthermore, the government had to shoulder the attendant unbudgeted cost burdens, such as the provision of relief funds for individuals and businesses, the building of emergency field hospitals, the purchase of personal protective equipment for workers, as well as resettlement and feeding schemes for homeless people.