PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said Friday that the state is streamlining the processing of nearly 20,000 unemployment claims, and that means skipping fact-finding interviews for many of them.

About 5,000 unemployment claims that are likely to be approved will proceed without interviews, Fortman told reporters. The remainder will be expedited, she said.

“This is not an action that I would normally take, to waive that step. But we are not in normal times. Due to the surge of claims during this pandemic, these interviews would have stretched out for months. This is unacceptable,” she said.

The Maine Department of Labor has strained under the weight of more than 100,000 unemployment claims over the past five weeks. So far, only two-thirds of applicants have received their benefits, and more than $100 million has been paid, she said.

“The surge in unemployment claims is historic, and it is beyond anything that any state could have prepared for,” she said. “I want to assure you that we are working as quickly as possible to get benefits out, and to reassure you that the benefits will be retroactive.”

The department will be ready next week to discuss a timeline for benefits for the self-employed Mainers, Fortman said.