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Durham , Orange , Chatham and Johnston counties . Local news has never been more important Subscribe for unlimited digital access to the news that matters to your community. So far, North Carolina and Wake County have said they are working to provide the data , but after multiple requests the data had not been released by 5 p . m . Tuesday. " Wake County is committed to openness and transparency, " said Dara Demi , Wake County communications director. " However, before we share the information you requested , we need to analyze the data , which is coming in from multiple sources , to make sure it ' s as accurate and informative as possible . " The other local counties claim it violates patient privacy laws , like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or their own policies . " HIPAA protects personally identifiable healthcare information , but it does not in any way prevent the disclosure of aggregated data and does not prohibit the disclosure of aggregated data descriptives , " said Amanda Martin , attorney for the N . C . Press Association . " More granular information like a zip code or race would not be considered personal health care information unless or until they can describe for me a community that is so small that identifying someone as Asian or Latina or white or black, in and of itself, becomes an identifier. " Proponents say releasing data points like these can broaden understanding of the virus and give them information that might help them know whether they fit the profile of someone who is at high-risk of becoming sick with the disease . But John Wallace , an epidemiologist with the N . C . Institute for Public Health , said the numbers don ' t necessarily give the full story. " These demographics reflect known cases at this time , and they shouldn't be used to determine who is at risk and where , " Wallace said . He said the data does not give insight to where the infected individuals may have gone , how the individual became infected and who is at risk of getting it . He added that there has so far been