Iraq is reopening its land border crossings, restaurants, hotels, and bringing back sporting events without spectators, the prime minister announced today, three days after it recorded its highest daily increase in coronavirus infections.

Land crossings would be open for trade only so as to secure local market needs, the prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, said in a statement.

Sporting events will resume as of 12 September. Government agencies can now bring back to work up to 50% of their employees, he said.

Iraq registered its biggest daily increase in coronavirus infections on Friday, with 5,036 cases, as Iraqis continue to flout lockdown rules, the health ministry said.

The health ministry recorded 4,314 new cases on Monday, and 77 deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 264,684 and the total deaths to 7,589.

Kadhimi said the electoral commission would be allowed to open voter registration centres and that its employees would be exempt from curfew.

The prime minister took office in May as the third head of government in a chaotic 10-week period that followed months of unrest in a country exhausted by war with Islamist militants, corruption and economic decay.

He was appointed to head a government tasked with organising an early election, a main demand of anti-government protesters who staged months of mass demonstrations last year, and has called one, to be held in June.