Protests against mandated COVID-19 vaccines pop up across US

Another 81 COVID-19 patients were admitted to Arkansas hospitals on Monday, the highest increase in hospitalizations since the beginning of the pandemic, Gov. Asa Hutchinson tweeted.

The state now has 1,220 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 250 on ventilators.

"We continue to see nearly all hospitalizations among the unvaccinated," the governor wrote. "Hospitals are full & the only remedy is for more Arkansans to be vaccinated."

Kaiser Permanente, the country's largest nonprofit health care organization, announced Monday that it will require all its employees and physicians to be vaccinated.

The organization, which has facilities in eight states and the District of Columbia, said the move was done to protect its workforce and patients from the rising delta variant.

As of July 31, 77.8% of 216,000 Kaiser Permanente employees and more than 95% of 23,000 Permanente Medical Group physicians have been fully vaccinated, the company said.

Kaiser Permanente set a target of Sept. 30 for all of its employees to be vaccinated. It will allow exceptions for medical and religious reasons.

Two of the nation's largest hardware chains announced new rules when it comes to masking among their employees and customers.

Both Home Depot and Lowes said it will require all of their associates, contractors and vendors to wear a mask while inside one of their stores, warehouses or other facilities, effective Monday. The rule also applies if the employees are working in a customer's home or business.

When it comes to customers, each chain had its own rules.

Home Depot said it will "ask customers to wear masks while in our stores and continue to offer masks to those who don’t have one." Lowes said its stores "will have signs encouraging customers to wear masks, and free masks will continue to be available for customers who request them."

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Northwell Health, the latest health provider in New York state, announced it will require all employees to get the coronavirus vaccine, or face regular weekly testing, a spokesperson told ABC News.

The policy goes into effect on Aug. 16.

Northwell, which operates 23 hospitals and more than 830 outpatient facilities in New York and has over 76,000 employees, was already requiring new hires to be vaccinated.

As of Monday, 77% of the health provider's entire staff were vaccinated, the company said in a statement.

Those who fail to get tested "in a timely manner" will face disciplinary action, including termination, according to the spokesperson. 

"We believe it is our obligation to set an example for the community by getting our team members vaccinated," Northwell said in a statement.

-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik