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Under a law revised in March to cover the coronavirus, the prime minister can declare a state of emergency if the disease poses a “grave danger” to lives and if its rapid spread could have a huge impact on the economy.

Japan’s top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said on Monday that a decision had yet to be made.

Declaring an emergency would give governors in severely affected regions legal authority to call on people to stay home and businesses to close, but not to impose the kind of lockdowns seen in other countries. In most cases, there are no penalties for ignoring requests, and enforcement will rely more on peer pressure and respect for authority.

The government is likely to designate the greater Tokyo metropolitan area for the state of emergency, and possibly also Osaka and Hyogo prefectures in western Japan, the Yomiuri reported.

More than 3,500 people have tested positive and 85 have died in Japan from the COVID-19 disease associated with new coronavirus, according to public broadcaster NHK.

While that toll is dwarfed by 335,000 infections and more than 9,500 deaths in the United States alone, experts worry a sudden surge could strain Japan’s medical system and leave patients with nowhere to go.

Kenji Shibuya, director of the Institute for Public Health at King’s College, London, said Abe’s decision on a state of emergency was too late given the explosive rise in Tokyo.

“It should have been declared by April 1 at the latest,” he said.