The Latest: Minneapolis mandates workers to mask up indoors

White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accompanies his mother, Mirna Bennett, to be vaccinated with a third coronavirus vaccine shot, in Haifa Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. (Elad Gershgoren/Pool via AP)

This March 24, 2021 photo shows a sign near an entrance to a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Mo. Unionized auto workers in the U.S. will go back to wearing masks in all factories, offices and warehouses starting Wednesday, Aug. 4, because of the spreading delta coronavirus variant.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

In this April 28, 2021 file photo, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, speaks with Matthew Putman, co-founder and CEO of Nanotronics, during a facility tour before a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a Nanotronics manufacturing center at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Putman said he agonized over his decision to impose a vaccine mandate on his more than 100 employees, who have mostly been working onsite throughout the pandemic. As it turned out, nearly all of his workers were already vaccinated, though he dreads the prospect of having to fire any holdouts.(AP Photo/John Minchillo, Pool)

A view of the Lido deck on the brand new Carnival Cruise Line ship 'Mardi Gras,' in Port Canaveral, Fla., Friday, July 30, 2021. The ship sailed Saturday, marking the first official passenger cruise from Port Canaveral since the pandemic began in 2020. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Passengers exit Carnival's Mardi Gras cruise ship, docked in the bay of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, marking the first time a cruise ship visits the U.S. territory since the COVID-19 pandemic began. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

Tourists look at cigars for sale at the Old San Juan dock after the arrival of Carnival's Mardi Gras cruise ship in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, marking the first time a cruise ship visits the U.S. territory since the COVID-19 pandemic began. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

President Joe Biden arrives at the White House in Washington, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, after spending the weekend at Camp David. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people line up for COVID-19 tests at a testing station in Nanjing in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Roadblocks were set up to check drivers and a disease-control official called Thursday for increased testing of workers at Chinese ports after a rash of coronavirus cases traced to a major airport rattled authorities who thought they had the disease under control. (Li Bo/Xinhua via AP)

FILE — In this July 27, 2021 file photo, Katrina Taormina draws the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe at Lehman High School, in New York. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have scheduled competing news conferences Monday, Aug. 2 amid rising COVID-19 case counts attributed to the highly contagious delta variant of the virus. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

A man receives a shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine from a health worker, at a vaccination center in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Visitors wear face masks to protect against COVID-19 as they walk at a tourist shopping street in Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. Chinese authorities announced Tuesday mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan as an unusually wide series of COVID-19 outbreaks reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019. The current outbreaks, while still in the hundreds of cases in total, have spread much more widely than previous ones, reaching multiple provinces and cities including the capital, Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Visitors wear face masks to protect against COVID-19 as they walk at a tourist shopping street in Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. Chinese authorities announced Tuesday mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan as an unusually wide series of COVID-19 outbreaks reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019. The current outbreaks, while still in the hundreds of cases in total, have spread much more widely than previous ones, reaching multiple provinces and cities including the capital, Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Medical workers takes throat swab samples in new round of COVID-19 testing in Nanjing city in eastern China's Jiangsu province Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 The current coronavirus outbreaks in China, while still in the hundreds of cases in total, have spread much more widely than previous ones, reaching multiple provinces and cities including the capital, Beijing. Many of the cases have been identified as the highly contagious delta variant that is driving a resurgence in many countries. (Chinatopix via AP)

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people get COVID-19 vaccinations at a vaccination site at a sports arena in Nanjing in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. Chinese authorities announced Tuesday mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan as an unusually wide series of COVID-19 outbreaks reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019. Most of the local cases are still in Jiangsu province, where an outbreak started at the airport in Nanjing, the provincial capital, and has spread to the city of Yangzhou. (Li Bo/Xinhua via AP)

Dr. Irman Pahlepi walks at the Dr. Suyoto General Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 29, 2021. Pahlepi is back at work in the hospital, immediately resuming his duties treating COVID-19 patients after recovering from an infection himself, for the second time. With numbers of infections in Indonesia skyrocketing and deaths steadily climbing, health care workers are being depleted as the virus spares nobody, Pahlepi felt he had no option but to jump right back in. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Dr. Irman Pahlepi, left, treats a COVID-19 patient at the Dr. Suyoto General Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 29, 2021. Pahlepi is back at work in the hospital, immediately resuming his duties treating COVID-19 patients after recovering from an infection himself, for the second time. With numbers of infections in Indonesia skyrocketing and deaths steadily climbing, health care workers are being depleted as the virus spares nobody, Pahlepi felt he had no option but to jump right back in. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Dr. Irman Pahlepi stands near screens monitoring COVID-19 patients at the Dr. Suyoto General Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 29, 2021. Pahlepi is back at work in the hospital, immediately resuming his duties treating COVID-19 patients after recovering from an infection himself, for the second time. With numbers of infections in Indonesia skyrocketing and deaths steadily climbing, health care workers are being depleted as the virus spares nobody, Pahlepi felt he had no option but to jump right back in. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

In this June 16, 2020 file photo shows Jordan Hall on the Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. A federal appeals court ruling Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, will allow Indiana University to go ahead with its plan for requiring its roughly 90,000 students and 40,000 employees to get COVID-19 vaccination shots.(Stephen Crane/The Herald-Times via AP File)

FILE — In this July 30, 2021 file photo, Bradley Sharp, of Saratoga, N.Y., gets the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from registered nurse Stephanie Wagner, in New York. Sharp needs the vaccination because it is required by his college. Hundreds of college campuses across the country have told students that they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before classes begin in a matter of weeks. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

FILE — In this April 18, 2020 file photo, a subway conductor wears a face mask as the train is in a station, in the Bronx borough of New York. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have scheduled competing news conferences Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, amid rising COVID-19 case counts attributed to the highly contagious delta variant of the virus. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

A registered nurse gives James Mullen the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination site at NYC Health + Hospitals Metropolitan, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in New York. After months of coaxing people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 with incentives like museum tickets and transit passes, New York City is sweetening the pot by offering $100 to any city resident who gets a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine at a city-run site, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, July 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

A jogger runs past the Sydney Opera House at dawn in Sydney, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Australia’s largest city Sydney will remain in lockdown for another four weeks due to a growing COVID-19 cluster. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS — The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul said Tuesday they’ll require city employees to wear masks in indoor public spaces as the delta variant of the coronavirus spurs concern nationwide.

Mayors Jacob Frey and Melvin Carter said they’ll also require visitors to city-owned buildings to wear masks. The moves are in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC recommends masks in areas with “substantial” spread of the virus, defined as 50 to 100 cases per 100,000 people. Minneapolis’ seven-day case rate, as of Friday, was almost 79 cases per 100,000.

The mayors also urged businesses to require masks indoors to less the chances of virus spread.

Minnesota reported 1,667 more infections on Tuesday, a positivity rate of 4%. That’s just below the state’s caution level but up significantly from 1.1% in early July.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— New York City: Vaccination proof needed for indoor events, dining, gyms

— WH: US shipped abroad more than 110M doses of vaccines

— China orders mass coronavirus testing for Wuhan

— 1st cruise ship docks in Puerto Rico since start of pandemic

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— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico’s court system is taking steps to ease financial upheaval as the state resumes foreclosures on delinquent mortgage loans and phases out a moratorium on commercial debt collection orders often tied to credit cards or health care.

The Administrative Office of the Courts on Monday announced staggered deadlines for a return to debt collection orders that can be used to garnish wages or seize property to pay off commercial debts. Common forms of overdue credit are linked to credit card spending and medical expenses.

At the same time, the state judiciary said mortgage lenders can’t foreclose on properties without first providing homeowners with information about various ways to avoid foreclosure — including forbearance agreements that reduce or suspend loan payments temporarily.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael E. Vigil acknowledged that an increase is expected in foreclosure and consumer debt cases as pandemic protections expire — but he added that it is unlikely to be overwhelming.

“We have reached a point in the COVID-19 pandemic where courts can normally process consumer debt cases and foreclosures in a fair and orderly manner,” Vigil said.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Tuesday postponed the final drawing in the state’s vaccination sweepstakes for several days, allowing more people to get their COVID-19 shots and enter for a chance to receive prizes.

The final drawing, originally set for Wednesday, is now scheduled for Aug. 10. The registration deadline also was extended from Monday night to next Sunday, the governor’s office said in a news release.

Due to a system glitch, registration for a college scholarship prize available to younger residents had closed early. The problem was fixed, but rather than simply reopening registration for one prize, the registration was pushed back for all prizes, the statement said.

Six other weekly drawings have been held. Among the prizes being offered in the finale are a grand prize of $1.588 million, a second-place prize of $588,000, two custom pickup trucks, lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, hunting rifles and shotguns, and state park weekend lodging trips. In addition, two people ages 12 to 25 will receive a full, four-year college scholarship.

Demand for coronavirus vaccines have been increasing lately. About 1,900 shots were administered statewide on Monday alone. The statement said an additional 7,500 shots were administered over the weekend, up 84% from the previous weekend total of 4,070.

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WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticized policies in states such as Texas and Florida that have moved to block employers and proprietors from implementing mask or vaccine requirements to curb the coronavirus.

Those two states are among several facing surging cases from the delta variant. “I think the fundamental question we have is, ‘what are we doing here?’” Psaki asked.

Biden planned to speak Tuesday about U.S. strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus at home and abroad, noting that “we’re all in this together.”

Earlier, the White House announced the U.S. had shipped more than 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 60 countries.

Biden has promised the U.S. will be the “arsenal of vaccines” for the world, and it has shipped the most vaccines abroad of any donor nation. While notable, the 110 million doses donated largely through a vaccine program known as COVAX represent a fraction of what is needed globally.

The White House says the U.S. will begin shipping half a billion doses of Pfizer vaccine it has pledged to about 100 low-income countries at the end of August.

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BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have surged to record levels.

The Louisiana Department of Health reported Tuesday that 2,112 mostly unvaccinated people are in hospital beds struggling with the coronavirus illness.

The state’s previous peak of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 2,069 patients in early January, after holiday gatherings spurred a spike in cases. But the highly contagious delta variant of the virus is propelling record-breaking numbers of hospitalizations at a faster pace.

Health officials say the influx of COVID-19 patients is damaging the ability of hospitals to care for people with heart attacks, injuries from car accidents and other health conditions.

The Louisiana Department of Health says 89% of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 aren’t vaccinated.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina can’t lawfully require students and staff to wear masks on campus this fall despite increasing cases of coronavirus, according to the state’s top prosecutor.

Last week, university officials announced they’d require face coverings at all times inside all campus buildings, unless in one’s own residence hall room, private office or eating inside campus dining facilities.

That decision, interim President Harris Pastides wrote, was in accordance with current recommendations from public health officials.

But in a letter sent Monday to Pastides and obtained by The Associated Press, state Attorney General Alan Wilson wrote the university’s mask mandate “is likely not consistent with the intent of the Legislature.”

A budget proviso that went into effect July 1 prohibits the state’s public colleges, universities and school districts from using any appropriated funds to institute mask requirements.

The proviso, wrote Wilson, was “intended to prohibit the mandatory wearing of masks.”

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RALEIGH, N.C. — More North Carolinians came in for a COVID-19 vaccine last week than on any given week in the past two months, according to state health officials.

The more than 74,000 newly vaccinated individuals are offering an encouraging sign that residents are increasingly taking seriously threats posed by the more contagious delta variant and understanding the benefits of the free and effective vaccines.

A push to get young adults vaccinated before the upcoming school year and a growing number of employers requiring their workers to get the shot is likely fueling the improvement.

Vaccine providers at dozens of sites across North Carolina are currently providing $25 to residents who come in for a shot and drivers who bring people in for their initial dose. At a Tuesday news conference, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper says his administration will raise that amount to $100 for people who get the shot starting Wednesday, as President Joe Biden had recommended. Drivers will still qualify for the $25.

The CDC shows major transmission of the virus throughout North Carolina. In all but seven of the state’s 100 counties, the CDC is recommending people wear masks in indoor public settings, even if they’re already vaccinated.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cattle owners in Tennessee have incentives to inoculate their herd.

But Tennessee officials aren’t planning to offer any incentives for people to get their coronavirus shot, despite having some of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country.

The state has reimbursed farmers nearly half a million dollars over the past two years to vaccinate their herds against respiratory and other diseases. Gov. Bill Lee says he doesn’t think the state should offer people incentives for COVID-19 inoculations.

Vaccination rates for COVID-19 hover at 39% in Tennessee vs. 49% nationally for the fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s COVID hospitalizations have more than tripled over the past three weeks.

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JERUSALEM — Israel will require all people arriving from the United States and 17 other countries to quarantine starting next week as the country grapples with a coronavirus surge.

The Health Ministry issued a travel warning on Tuesday, saying all individuals -- vaccinated and unvaccinated -- arriving from 18 countries must fully quarantine for 14 days effective Aug. 11. If a person tests negative for coronavirus after seven days, they can be released from quarantine.

The countries are the United States, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland, Greece, Ukraine, Eswatini, Botswana, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Malawi, Egypt, Czech Republic, Cuba, Rwanda and Tunisia.

They join a list of 24 other countries with various existing travel restrictions due to the pandemic, including the U.K., Brazil, India, Russia and Turkey.

The Israeli Health Ministry recorded 3,834 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest daily count topping a monthlong acceleration in new infections. Serious cases of COVID-19 have grown from 19 in mid-June to at least 221 despite the country’s rapid vaccination campaign.

More than 57% of the country’s 9.3 million citizens have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Israel had secured a large supply of the Pfizer vaccines in exchange for trading medical data.

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NEW YORK — Meat processer Tyson Foods will require all of its U.S. employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, becoming one of the first major employer of frontline workers to do so amid a resurgence of the virus.

Tyson, one of the world’s largest food companies, announced Tuesday that members of leadership team must be vaccinated by Sept. 24 and the rest of its office workers by Oct. 1. Its frontline workers must be vaccinated by Nov. 1, although the company said the specifics were being negotiated with unions.

Just under half of its U.S. workforce -- about 56,000 employees -- have been vaccinated after the company staged more than 100 vaccination events since February, the Springfield, Arkansas, company says. It plans to continue with those events and offer a $200 bonus for all frontline workers who receive a vaccine.

In a memo to employees, CEO Donnie King expressed alarm about the rise of the delta variant and made clear the vaccine requirement was needed to overcome persistent hesitancy to get the shots.

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JACKSON, MISS. — The number of people receiving doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi is increasing as new cases surge in the state.

Around 53,000 people received either a first or second dose of the coronavirus vaccine the week of July 25-31, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. That’s after the state reported a low of around 20,000 vaccinations for the week of July 4-10.

The last time vaccination rates were so high was April 25 to May 1, when 55,638 people were inoculated.

Mississippi is ranked among the least vaccinated states in the country. Around 1.2 million people in the state of 3 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Mississippi’s department of health reported the state had nearly 5,000 new confirmed cases over the weekend. That’s more than six times the number of new cases — 796 — reported three weeks ago on July 12.

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DETROIT — Unionized auto workers in the U.S. will go back to wearing masks in all factories, offices and warehouses starting Wednesday because of the spreading delta coronavirus variant.

The decision by a task force of representatives from General Motors, Ford, Stellantis and the United Auto Workers was announced on Tuesday. It includes all workers regardless of whether they’ve been vaccinated.

Also, nonunion Toyota announced that masks would be required starting Wednesday at all U.S. facilities except for a research center near Ann Arbor, Michigan, where incidents of the delta variant are relatively low. The company has about 36,000 U.S. workers.

The move at UAW-represented plants comes just under a month after vaccinated union workers were allowed to shed their masks. But the union says in a statement the decision was made for worker safety due to a change in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mask guidelines. The statement says the delta variant’s “alarmingly high” transmission rate is making the return of masks necessary.

The task force encourages all workers to get vaccinations so mask requirements can be relaxed. About 150,000 factory workers from all three companies wore masks at work from May 2020 until the requirement ended July 12.

Last week, the CDC changed course on some masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where cases are surging.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida has risen to an all-time high of 11,515 patients.

The figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show 2,400 of those patients are in ICU beds. The previous day, the data showed there were 10,389 COVID-hospitalizations in the state.

The new number breaks a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available. Last year, Florida hit its previous peak on July 23, with 10,170 hospitalizations.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis insisted the spike will soon abate and he won't impose any business restrictions or mask mandates.

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NEW YORK — New York City will soon require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for indoor activities.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the move Tuesday, the first big city in the U.S. to impose such restrictions.

The new requirement starts Aug. 16. It applies to indoor dining, gyms and indoor entertainment venues.

De Blasio said Monday he was making “a strong recommendation” that everyone wear a mask in public indoor settings but stressed that the city’s “overwhelming strategic thrust” remained getting more people vaccinated.

Official data indicates about 66% of adults in New York City are f

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