Maine Businesses Get First Round of Aid to Weather Pandemic

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine has awarded more than 2,300 economic recovery grants to small businesses and nonprofit groups in the state to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic. 

Gov. Janet Mills says Thursday the grants totaled $105 million and were supported by federal coronavirus relief funds. 

More than 2,000 of the awards went to small businesses. 

Mills says a little more than a third of the grants went to businesses that work in the hospitality sector. 

She says a second round of recovery grants is forthcoming. Maine has had more than 5,800 cases of the virus in total.