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New Jersey Urging Residents To Get COVID-19 Test To Collect More Data As Another 970 Positive Cases Reported

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- New Jersey officials are urging residents to get tested for the coronavirus in order to collect more data as another 970 COVID-19 case were reported Wednesday. Gov. Phil Murphy continues to emphasize that "data determines dates" in New Jersey's road to recovery and collecting data from coronavirus tests is a key factor.

"The more people who do get tested, the stronger our data becomes," Murphy said. "The stronger our data becomes, the stronger our confidence will become that we can take the next steps in responsibly restarting our economy and getting our recovery underway."

New Jersey has increased its testing capacity and now has 164 testing sites across the state.

Health officials are now encouraging as many people as want to be tested to go right ahead, especially those in urban and minority communities.

"This is how we can best measure our public health and how we can get the data we need to take the steps into stage two of our restart and recovery and beyond," Murphy said.

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Of the 30,000 tests conducted on May 23, Murphy says there was a 7% positivity rate.

So far, Murphy has restored many outdoor activities, like going to the beach, parks and camping. He's also eased restrictions on outdoor gatherings, including graduation ceremonies.

But there is growing unrest to expand activities for children.

"It's been very frustrating just to get our voice heard," said Brian Delahant, part of the New Jersey Baseball Coalition.

Delahant says the coalition represents thousands of teams and sports-related businesses. They've been circulating a petition online so youth baseball and softball can start again.

They've developed guidelines to minimize risk, including social distancing rules, dugout restrictions and encouraging the use of face masks.

"The lifespan of youth baseball is a very short period and we need to give this back to these kids. They need a victory here and this is a mental victory we can give them and it gives hope to everyone else. It gives hope to everyone else, other sports and other kids, that, hey, your sport is coming!" Delahant said.

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Murphy won't set a timetable but he says he is not ignoring the issue.

"You've got day care, youth sports, summer camp – all of which are at fever pitch with putting together a responsible set of guidelines, so please bear with us. We know there's a lot of demand for it. We're not sitting on our hands, I promise you, but we're not quite there yet," Murphy said.

The New Jersey Baseball Coalition has a meeting with Murphy's deputy chief of staff this week, where they hope to make their case to reinstating youth baseball and softball.

There are now 156,628 COVID-19 cases in the Garden State. Murphy also reported an additional 148 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the state's death toll to 11,339.

To find a coronavirus testing site near you, click here.

CBS3's Cleve Bryan contributed to this report.

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