PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine’s agriculture commissioner has called on the federal government to loosen the rules about the interstate shipping of meat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amanda Beal, the head of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Program should temporarily lift restrictions that prevent state-inspected meat from being sold or donated across state lines. She said processing facilities in the state are facing pressure to meet demand.

Maine has had more than 1,300 cases of the virus and 63 deaths through Friday.