Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – staked their claim Sunday to leading the world out of the coronavirus pandemic and crisis, pledging more than 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations, vowing to help developing countries grow while fighting climate change and backing a minimum tax on multinational firms. At the group’s first face-to-face meeting in two years, the leaders promised support for global health, green energy, infrastructure and education – demonstrating that international cooperation is back.

United States

With COVID-19 cases declining and vaccinations increasing, governors across the US are wrestling with when to issue an end to the emergency declarations. More than a half-dozen states already have ended their coronavirus emergencies. That includes South Carolina and New Hampshire, where Republican governors ended their emergency orders this past week. More states could join that list soon.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, says his emergency declaration will end Tuesday. The state had an indefinite state of emergency for 15 months. He credited the state’s high vaccination rate with helping turn the tide in the fight against the coronavirus.

In many states, emergency declarations have been routinely extended by governors every few weeks or months since the start of the pandemic. Republicans generally are leading the push to end emergency orders, but some Democrats also are supporting such moves.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order that effective today will end the state’s stay-at-home order lift and most of the state’s coronavirus rules. There will be no capacity limits or physical distancing requirements for businesses. Fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks in most places.

Newsom said he will not end the statewide declaration of emergency. That ensures the governor has the power to alter or suspend state laws in the future. That has angered Republican lawmakers who say the declaration is unnecessary.

Honolulu is loosening some restrictions on social activity now that more than half its population has been vaccinated against COVID-19. The new rules allow outdoor social gatherings of up to 25 people and indoor gatherings of up to 10.

Karaoke bars and nightclubs may operate at 50% capacity if all attendees are tested for the disease or show proof they have been fully vaccinated.

The city will allow gatherings of 25 indoors and 75 outdoors once 60% of the population has been vaccinated. All limits will be lifted when the vaccination rate tops 70%. Honolulu reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, down 25% from two weeks earlier.

Officials declared Chicago fully reopened last Friday, ending a requirement that people wear face masks in most indoor places and lifting capacity limits intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Chicago sometimes veered from the state’s restrictions and opted to be stricter or more lenient than the state required. But city officials decided to join the rest of Illinois in lifting restrictions Friday, nearly 15 months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued the first stay-at-home order as coronavirus cases began to rise.

People who aren’t vaccinated must still wear a mask indoors, and everyone will still need to wear masks inside health care facilities, jails, shelters, schools, taxis, ride-hailing vehicles and on public transportation. Businesses can still opt to require people to wear masks on their premises.

United Kingdom

The U.K. has recorded its highest coronavirus infections since late February, the majority from the delta variant first identified in India. Government figures on Friday showed 8,125 new cases, the highest since Feb. 26. The delta variant, which is considered about 40% more transmissible than the previous dominant strain, accounts for more than 90% of all new infections in the U.K.

The hope is a rapid rollout of vaccines will break the link between new cases and deaths, especially as most cases are among younger age groups. On Friday, another 17 coronavirus-related deaths were announced, taking the confirmed total to 127,884, the highest in Europe.

Italy

Italy is recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine only for people over age 60, saying younger people who received a first AstraZeneca shot should get Pfizer or Moderna for their second shot.

The government’s scientific committee revised its vaccine strategy after reviewing the latest data on cases of rare blood clots in people who received AstraZeneca. It’s acting now because the virus has drastically decreased, thanks to months of restrictions and a vaccine campaign that inoculated 45% of the population with at least one shot.

While cases of blood clots after a second dose are “extraordinarily rare,” the committee is recommending a different vaccine for a second dose for people under age 60, according to Dr. Franco Locatelli, head of the scientific committee.

Other countries, including France and Canada, have made similar recommendations. The European Medicines Agency still recommends people who received a first AstraZeneca vaccine to follow up with the same shot.

China

Top US and Chinese diplomats appear to have had another sharply worded exchange, with Beijing saying it told the US to cease interfering in its internal affairs and accusing it of politicizing the search for the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi and Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call Friday that revealed wide divisions in a number of contentious areas, including the curtailing of freedoms in Hong Kong and the mass detention of Muslims in the northwestern Xinjiang region.

Yang said China was “gravely concerned” over what he called “absurd” stories that the virus escaped from a lab in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where cases were first discovered.

The US and others have accused China of failing to provide the raw data and access to sites that would allow a more thorough investigation into where the virus sprung from and how it initially spread.

Russia

Russia’s national coronavirus taskforce reports the country’s tally of daily new infections has risen by almost half over the past week and more than doubled in Moscow. It says there were 13,510 infections recorded in the previous day, sharply higher than the 9,163 reported on June 6. Nearly half of the new cases were in Moscow – 6,701 compared with 2,936 a week ago.

Moscow’s mayor on Saturday ordered a week off for some workplaces and imposed restrictions on many businesses to fight the spread.

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ordered that enterprises that do not normally work on weekends remain closed for the next week while continuing to pay employees. In addition, food courts and children’s play areas in shopping centers will close for a week and restaurants and bars must limit their late-night service to takeout.

Moscow authorities say enforcement of mask- and glove-wearing on mass transit, in stores and in other public places will be strengthened and violators could face fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($70).

Turkey

Turkey is stepping up its COVID-19 vaccination program, with nearly 600,000 doses administered in the previous 24 hours. Health minister Fahrettin Koca also tweeted Saturday that human trials for a domestic vaccine are in the final stage.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month announced an intensification of vaccinations in June as the country seeks to revive its struggling economy, particularly the tourism industry.

Since vaccinations began on Jan. 14, more than 33 million doses have been administered, including 13.6 million second injections, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Turkey’s population is nearly 84 million. The daily infections dropped from a high of 63,000 in mid-April to 6,261 on Friday, according to official data.

Tourism remains restricted due to a Russian ban on most flights and Britain’s requirement that travellers from Turkey pay for quarantine hotel stays and PCR tests. But Germany says it will relax quarantine requirements on July 1.

On Monday, Turkey is expected to start vaccinating people ages 40-49.