Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave the nation a dire warning Saturday that it could see its hospitals overwhelmed and the death toll skyrocket if the coronavirus gets out of control, but pledged to draw up an economic relief package even bigger than the one used to sustain the economy during the 2008 global financial crisis.
Speaking from the Prime Minister's Office, Abe noted in his third official coronavirus news conference that cases with untraceable infection routes are increasing particularly in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, though he said Japan was not yet in an emergency situation.
"If a chain of uncontrollable infections occurs, the rate of infection could explode somewhere," he said, adding that the volume of cases could balloon by more than 30 times in just two weeks.