Italy enters its first full day under a nationwide lockdown after a government decree extended restrictions on movement from the hard-hit north to the rest of the country.

Italian doctors celebrated one small victory in their battle against the coronavirus after a 38-year-old man was moved out of intensive care for the first time since he tested positive Feb. 21. He is considered to be the first Italian to have contracted the coronavirus — Patient No. 1.

As Italy struggled with rising cases, there were more signs of normality returning to China, where President Xi Jinping made his first trip to the virus’ epicenter of Wuhan. In mainland China, where the outbreak emerged in December, almost three-quarters of the more than 80,000 patients who contracted the virus have recovered. Employees have been returning to work, but with new routines that include workers wearing protective face masks and not facing each other while eating.

Teachers at St. Paul Public Schools went on strike Tuesday after last-minute efforts to reach a contract agreement failed.

The school district and the union that represents about 3,550 teachers and support staff negotiated for six straight days and, despite a mediation session that lasted until 3 a.m. Tuesday, were unable to come to terms on an agreement.

The union’s priorities include hiring more mental health professionals, multilingual staffers, special education teachers and restorative practices specialists.

North America’s only marsupial made a rare appearance on St. Thomas’s campus outside Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex on Monday. They are found usually in the area east of the Rocky Mountains or along the West Coast.

Carly Scheuerman can be reached at sche2340@stthomas.edu.