Coronavirus updates: Trump calls diagnosis 'blessing in disguise'

Boston is pausing its school reopening plan as coronavirus cases rise in the city and across Massachusetts, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Wednesday.

Fourth through eighth grade classes were set to transition to a hybrid learning model the week of Nov. 5, and ninth through 12th grade classes the week of Nov. 16 -- but now in-person start dates will be determined at a later date.

Preschoolers and kindergartners set to return to the classroom on Monday now will have to wait until at least Oct. 22.

Boston Public Schools began its first full week of hybrid learning last week for students with special needs, English language learners and for students who are homeless. These 1,300 high-need students will continue with in-person learning should their parents so choose.

The decision comes after Boston’s rate of positivity climbed over 4%. Coronavirus cases have been steadily rising in Massachusetts since early September, with the state's seven-day average rising 109% over the last month.

The city will re-evaluate reopening schools later this month based on the data in the coming weeks.

ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

Between 300,000 and 400,000 people could die from COVID-19 in the United States, according to the nation's top expert on the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, offered the grim prediction while speaking at a virtual event hosted by American University on Tuesday.

"The models tell us that if we do not do the kinds of things that we're talking about in the cold of the fall and the winter, we could have from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths," Fauci said. "That would be just so tragic if that happens."

More than 210,000 people across the nation have died from the disease so far.

Germany confirmed 2,828 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, its highest daily caseload since mid-April.

An additional 16 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded Tuesday. The cumulative total now stands at 306,086 cases with 9,562 deaths, according to the latest data from the country's public health institute.

The number of daily cases recorded in Germany reached almost 7,000 during the height of the pandemic at the end of March and in early April. Although the figures have fallen significantly since then, Germany's infections have been on the rise in recent months amid a second wave across Europe.

The Czech Republic identified 4,457 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, its highest single-day rise yet.

It's the first time the central European nation has registered more than 4,000 new cases in one day.

An additional 13 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded Tuesday. The cumulative total now stands at 90,022 confirmed cases with 794 deaths, according to the latest data from the Czech health ministry.

More than 40,000 cases were active Tuesday, including 1,387 patients who remained hospitalized for COVID-19, while nearly 49,000 have recovered from the disease, according to the health ministry data.

The Czech Republic now has the highest rate of COVID-19 infection in Europe. Over the past two weeks, the country of 10.7 million people has reported 346.1 cases per 100,000, surpassing Spain for the first time, which has seen 305 cases per 100,000, according to data published Tuesday by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Earlier this week, the Czech government declared another state of emergency due to the rapid increase in infections, with strident restrictions ranging from limitations on public gatherings to closures for some schools. Officials had relaxed almost all coronavirus-related restrictions over the summer.

The Czech Republic is among a handful of European countries, including France, Spain and the United Kingdom, that are grappling with an uptick in COVID-19 cases as a second wave of infections hits the region.