While coronavirus cases are dropping in New York, the positivity rate in the Mid-Hudson region is still one of the highest in the state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says some residents are to blame.

Cuomo says families in the Hudson Valley are letting their guards down and aren't keeping up with COVID-19 safety measures.

The Mid-Hudson region is at 4.14%, nearly tied at the top with Long Island.

The positivity rate in the Mid-Hudson region is more than four times as high as the Southern Tier - and double most regions.

It's been that way for some time now.

News 12 spoke to Dr. Harish Moorjani, an infectious disease specialist at Phelps Hospital, Northwell Health. He said Gov. Cuomo is correct - that COVID-19 fatigue is a major problem.

He also points out another possibility. Dr. Moorjani says Columbia University has been testing COVID-19 samples among its patients since the end of December - about 25% of them are the New York variant.

He says it may be more contagious, but more studies need to be done.