The federal government is providing $75.5 million to the Guilford medical products company that is expanding production of the testing swabs that are critically needed to detect the coronavirus. Puritan Medical Products plans to add around 140 new workers to boost production of the swabs at a second location in Pittsfield, the BDN reported April 29.

In addition to Poland Spring, contributors to the fund include Experience Maine and Bissell Brothers Brewing which has a location in the founders’ hometown of Milo. The latter two companies are selling Maine-made products, a portion of the proceeds of which will be donated to the fund. Links to these products can be found on the Maine Tourism Relief Fund website. 

Many Dover-Foxcroft area farmers agree that one way to alleviate the threat to the food supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic is to remove some of the links.

A Guilford company that makes the medical swabs necessary to test for the coronavirus has identified a location in Pittsfield where it would open a second manufacturing facility to help meet the spike in demand for its products.

Citing the state plan to restart the economy and their own desire to ensure the well-being of all festival participants, the Center Theatre and Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce announced that the 2020 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival will be postponed until Saturday, Oct. 3.

Skowhegan Savings Charitable Foundation rises to help overcome the challenge that Mainers are facing with food availability during COVID-19 by donating $30,000 to 28 local food bank programs that serve central and western Maine, including the Town of Dexter Food Assistance Program.

Many business owners and municipal leaders have been eagerly waiting for Gov. Janet Mills to provide a path forward after weeks of restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Her announcement Tuesday that she will issue a new stay-at-home order that allows a gradual reopening of certain businesses is a relief for some, but not all.

As health care systems in coronavirus hot spots are stretched thin, Maine hospitals and the state prepared for a much larger onslaught of coronavirus cases than the one that has materialized so far here.

Just as Buie has adapted her musical pursuits, she has made other changes to protect her health amid the ongoing outbreak as she approaches her 70th birthday. That includes utilizing a new local program -- Community Pulling Together -- that shops and delivers groceries for people who are self-isolating at home or otherwise concerned about their medical well-being.

A check for $10,000 arrived at the town of Monson last week from the Maine Community Foundation with the community being chosen as one of three communities participating in the Community Entrepreneurship Program. This first check is for planning purposes and will be followed by another for $25,000 for implementation purposes and a further $25,000 in 2021.  The National Main Street Center will provide workshops, training and local assessments worth a further $10,000 so the total investment will be $70,000. 

Certain Maine businesses can reopen on Friday as part of a gradual plan to lift coronavirus-related restrictions, though many hospitality businesses could remain closed deep into the summer, Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday.

Self-employed workers and independent contractors will be able to apply for federally funded unemployment benefits starting on Friday, the Maine Department of Labor announced on Tuesday.

Gov. Janet Mills suggested on Monday that she might reduce restrictions on businesses when a stay-at-home order expires at the end of April, but she told Mainers to “stay the course” on public health measures aimed at slowing the coronavirus.

While Mayo had established historical relationships with some system members, like Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, the close of the merger opened up vast new resources, Vienneau says. Leaders at Mayo are now included in daily COVID-19 incident command meetings, where they can tap the expertise of the system’s healthcare professionals all over Maine. In addition, subgroups focused on clinical and support areas including infection control, facilities management, pharmacy services and many others are meeting as needed during the week. 

Libraries in other parts of the state have started similar projects to document the evolving coronavirus pandemic, too. The Heart of Maine Community Stories is taking submissions for its online emergency archive, created by the Hartland Public Library, Newport Cultural Center, Pittsfield Public Library and Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft.  

More than 400,000 Maine residents have already received economic impact payments from the federal government, according to data released jointly by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on Friday.

We have heard the word “unprecedented” more than we care to acknowledge since COVID-19 invaded our planet. We have seen pandemics before, yes we have had economic crises before as well but the impact of COVID-19, coupled with the federal and local government’s response and controversial remedy, has ushered in a season unlike this generation has ever seen before in this country.

Self-distancing and other stay-healthy-at-home mandates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have made for an unusual level of isolation, even for the most outgoing Mainers. But consider the lot of those additionally isolated by declining health, particularly those residing in the state’s nursing homes.