LAFAYETTE, La. (The Advertiser)- New cases of COVID-19 continue to mount quickly in Acadiana after a spike last week that likely doesn’t represent the full measure of holiday spread of the virus.

Across the eight-parish region, 1,526 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 since Sunday, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Health, or 305 people a day on average. That’s down dramatically from a spike of 417 new cases a day the week before, but it remains at the high end of the region’s third wave rate of spread this winter.

The decline in new cases comes two weeks after New Year’s Eve and three weeks after Christmas, suggesting a holiday surge in new cases is still yet to materialize, even as Louisiana’s medical experts said last week’s spike in cases reflected spread caused by pre-holiday parties more than it reflected actual Christmas and New Year’s Eve activities.

Health care experts have said they expect surges in new cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19 to track three to four weeks behind the timelines of major gatherings. 

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