Japan said on Monday it would consider declaring a state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area as coronavirus cases climb, casting fresh doubt over whether it can push ahead with the Olympics and keep economic damage to a minimum, Reuters reported.

Citing government sources, Kyodo News reported that preparations were being made for a state of emergency that would take effect on Saturday and last about a month.

Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of coronavirus countermeasures, said on Monday that the government would aim to make a decision “as soon as possible” after hearing what experts had to say.

An emergency declaration would mark a reversal for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has resisted any such drastic steps despite criticism that the government was acting too slowly.

Japan saw a record 4,520 new cases on December 31, prompting the capital, Tokyo, and three neighboring prefectures to seek an emergency declaration from the national government. There were 3,158 new cases on Sunday, according to NHK; Tokyo and its environs accounted for about half of them.

Suga did not say when the government would make a decision, or what restrictions would follow. The first state of emergency, declared last spring, lasted more than a month, shutting down schools and non-essential businesses.

Suga repeated, however, that many of the new cases with unknown origins were likely linked to restaurants, and that the government’s latest request for eateries in the Tokyo area to close at 8 p.m.—rather than 10 p.m.—should be effective.