President Donald Trump approved a Major Disaster Declaration for New Jersey, making federal funding available to the state to help in the response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Gov. Phil Murphy had requested the declaration in recent days as the Garden State remains one of the states most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 4,000 cases and 62 deaths.

Murphy was on a video conference with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and state governors from around the country, where he thanked the president for approving the declaration.

"We will keep working with our federal partners to #FlattenTheCurve and ensure we emerge stronger from this emergency," Murphy tweeted on Thursday.

The governor has made it clear that the state needs resources to help fight the spread of the virus, as hospitals become overwhelmed with positive cases and are now running short on personal protective equipment.

The Garden State joins New York, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Louisiana, Washington and California in getting the declaration.

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There have been several drive-thru testing sites set up throughout the state, including in three North Jersey counties: Paramus in Bergen County at Bergen Community College, Wayne in Passaic County at William Paterson University and Newark in Essex County at Weequahic Park. Another site was launched at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.

The testing sites in Wayne and Newark both are for county residents by appointment only, while the site in Paramus does not restrict who can come, although only those with symptoms will receive a test.

The Paramus site has seen huge turnouts for testing and has reached capacity before officially opening for the day twice.

Anthony Zurita is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all the major news happening in North Jersey, subscribe here. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Email: zuritaa@northjersey.com Twitter: @AnthonyRZurita