The Iranian government will keep the coronavirus restrictions in place during the new year holidays to avert a new wave of the pandemic, President Hassan Rouhani said.

The president announced at a Saturday meeting of the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters that people will have to observe the health protocols and abide by strict restrictions during the upcoming Nowruz holidays at the beginning of spring.

Stressing the need to mobilize efforts to prevent the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Iran, the president said it is necessary to step up control and monitoring and increase the number of tests for early detection of infection.

�Today, the administration has focused its efforts on the purchase of vaccine. We will supply as much vaccine as we can,� Rouhani added.

The Health Ministry has formulated plans to restrict travels during the Nowruz holidays, which will begin on March 21. People have been advised to stay home and exercise caution as a new strain of COVID-19, first found in the UK, is spreading in Iran.

Iran has developed two homegrown coronavirus vaccines that are undergoing clinical trials.

Officials say Tehran will receive around 16 million doses of vaccines through the World Health Organization's COVAX program, import more than 25 million doses from abroad, and produce 25 million other doses inside the country.