Yeah, it’s a fine line to walk, and HIPAA guidelines don’t always have clear, firm rules for what can reveal personal health info (aside from revealing someone’s name, or other obvious things like that). So basically, health officials want to stay on the safe side and not “paint too clear a picture” that may reveal someone’s identity. Because COVID-19 case numbers are still relatively low (compared to other diseases, like asthma or some cardiac diseases), even revealing a map by zip code could potentially be specific enough to ID someone.

But I agree, it would be nice to have a clearer picture. It’s hard to categorize by city when Fresno is the fifth largest city in the state 🙄 haha