Party-goers celebrating spring break in Miami were hit with an 8pm curfew as a SWAT team was called to the city to deal with excessive revellers.
A state of emergency was declared as a SWAT vehicle was seen moving along the popular party srtreet Ocean Drive, ordering people to go home.
Police began firing pepper balls into the crowds, according to reports, causing people to finally flee the scene. It is not known if anyone was hurt in the commotion.
Miami city manager Raul Aguila said: "As we hit the peak of the peak of spring break, we are quite simply overwhelmed."
The chaotic scenes came as infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci warned Americans against "declaring a Covid victory prematurely".
He told MSNBC’s Christ Hayes: "Instead of continuing to go down at a sharp line it's plateaued. Once it's done that, there's a high risk of another resurgence.
"We've seen that with previous surges. The other three [surges] that we've had in this country.
"Don't declare victory prematurely. We still have a ways to go, plateauing at 50,000 cases a day is not a good place to be.
"And that's where we are. We've got to keep pushing to get it down even further."
Covid cases across the US have been stable at around 55,000 per day in recent weeks, leading to some speculation that the pandemic is nearly over as the vaccine rollout continues into the summer.
However, Dr Fauci issued the stark warning that another spike in cases could be on the way.
Some experts have said the spring break is a 'perfect storm' which could contribute to a rise in cases.
Hordes of young people have continued to gather in large groups on Florida’s beaches and in bars without wearing masks or socially distancing, despite the B.1.1.7 strain, which originated in the UK, being present in the state.
Dr Peter Hotez, of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN: "It's a perfect storm. You've got the B.1.1.7 variant accelerating in Florida.
"You've got all these 20-year-old kids. None of them are going to have masks. They're all going to be drinking. They're having pretty close, intimate contact.
"And then, after that's all done, they're going to go back to their home states and spread the B.1.1.7 variant."
Dan Gelber, Miami Beach mayor added: "It is a really difficult situation. A lot of people are coming here and they are coming here with the wrong intentions."
The curfew runs from 8pm until 6am and is effective immediately.
