GUILFORD — A Maine medical supplies manufacturer has been awarded more than $11 million from the federal government to produce millions more testing swabs.

Puritan Medical Products of Guilford received the money through the federal Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, said Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Monday. The company will increase its production of swabs by three million per month, Collins said.

Puritan has played a major role in the U.S.’s efforts to conduct enough testing to help corral the coronavirus pandemic. The White House announced in June that the federal government was providing more than $75 million for Puritan to double its production to 40 million swabs per month.

The company’s total production of flock tip swabs and foam swabs is at least 90 million per month now, Collins said.

“Increased testing is crucial to tracking and slowing the spread of COVID-19 and keeping our communities safe,” she said.

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