BUFFALO, N.Y. — With a 4.9% seven-day average rate of COVID positivity, Western New York is more than a full point higher than any other area in the state.

"There is a reason why Western New York is higher than the rest of the state, and that reason is communal behavior," Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-NY, said.

Cuomo, in Buffalo Friday, pointed out the region's positivity rate has fluctuated month to month; as high as 5% on February 1 and well below 2% in the middle of March.

"It was up, down, it's up again," Cuomo said. "What's it going to be in a few months? Depends on what we do in Western New York. You make the decision with the facts when you have them."

Cuomo continued to reference the Western New York numbers as he talked about ongoing pandemic decision-making. With regards to the restaurant curfew, which will move to midnight on Monday, he said the state will continue to adjust based on the numbers, but he's not prepared to totally lift it or other restrictions yet.

"We're not back to normal. Right? Look at the numbers in Western New York today," Cuomo said. "The numbers are down but we're not back to normal. So when people say, ‘well, we should live life as if we are back to normal’ — but we're not back to normal."

The governor pointed to the volatility of the virus meanwhile to explain why he's not prepared to make a decision on how professional sports fans might return in full to venues next season.

"I'm not going to try to guess what's going to happen months from now and what should the best policy be months from now. We'll find out the facts at that time and make a determination on the facts," Cuomo said.

The governor maintained he needs to sign off on any plan, but says the Erie County executive's idea to require every ticket holder in the stadium to be vaccinated is theoretically plausible.

"I'm not rejecting the suggestion," he said. "It's a theoretical possibility. There are other possibilities: what we did before with testing. There's a combination of vaccination and testing that we're doing right now for events. You can either get a vaccine or test."