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Pandemic Dooms Maine Lobster Festival

ROCKLAND, Maine - The Maine Lobster Festival will not take place in 2020 because of fears about the coronavirus. Organizers of the event said Tuesday that they were "deeply disappointed'' to have to shutter the event but that they determined the closure was unavoidable.

The event draws thousands of people to coastal Rockland every summer.

Also, two small hospitals in Maine say they could close by the end of June without funding through a federal loan program meant to help small businesses during the pandemic.

As of Tuesday, the state has had more than 1,000 cases of the virus and 51 deaths.