Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced a ban on public events with more than 500 people on Friday, as the government tries to curtail the spread of coronavirus even as massive social demonstrations are planned in the coming weeks.
Soraya Ali reports.
Water cannons, tear gas and rocks flung across Santiago on Friday (March 13) as anti-government protesters clashed with security forces.
Protesters chanted slogan atop busses -- as horseback riot police stormed through the streets.
This --- an all too familiar sight in Chile which has been rocked by protests since October last year.
They began over a hike in public transport fees and swelled into wider calls for inequality, attracting tens of thousands at times.
But this could be coming to an end - for a while at least.
President Sebastian Pinera announced a ban on public events of more than 500 people on Friday (March 13) in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The ban, which will begin on Monday, could have implications for protests planned for the coming weeks.
Chile has 43 confirmed cases of the virus.
And Pinera also warned that people arriving from high-risk countries like China, Italy and Spain would face being quarantined for 14 days.