The City of Miami’s government officials are using more than $3 million in federal funding to provide loans and grants to tenants and business owners who have been impacted by coronavirus. However, two of the three financial assistance programs quickly reached capacity today with an hour of their openings.

The unexpected overload of people seeking financial help is representative of how deeply the coronavirus has impacted many businesses. The third program designed to help residents pay their bills was set to accept up to 10,000 applications that meet criteria for the program. Within the first hour, administrators received 5,000 applications and by midafternoon, more than 20,000 were submitted. The majority of renters living paycheck to paycheck were reported to be able to pay their rent and utility bills through April, but were expecting their situation to grow worse with rising coronavirus case numbers and continued loss of jobs.