SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGTV) — Starting Sunday, the California Employment Development Department stopped taking new unemployment applications amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The department said in a statement that it was “making improvements to UI Online and cannot accept new unemployment applications.”

Existing claims will not be impacted, the agency said.

“These new changes will not cause payment delays and allows EDD to pay customers sooner by verifying identities in an easier, faster way. Once UI Online is available for new applications on October 5, 2020, claims will be backdated to cover this time period,” according to the department.

According to the state the EDD has a backlog of almost 600,000 Californians who have applied for unemployment insurance.