UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday all pandemic legal curbs in England would end later this week, urging a shift from government intervention to personal responsibility. He faced scientific unease and claims of political calculation to shut down discontent at the restrictions and his premiership within his ruling Conservative party. Johnson, who has been mired in scandals that have threatened his hold on power, said the legal need for people to self-isolate when infected with Covid-19 would stop from Thursday. Access to free home testing kits will also cease from April 1, he added. "We now have sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition from protecting people with government interventions to relying on vaccines and treatments as our first line of defence," he told parliament, to cheers from the Tory ranks. "Let us learn to live with this virus and continue protecting ourselves and others without restricting our freedoms." Johnson pushed ahead with the changes despite news that Queen Elizabeth II had tested positive for the first time, calling it "a reminder that this virus has not gone away". The 95-year-old monarch was experiencing "mild cold-like symptoms" but expects to be at her desk carrying out "light duties" this week, Buckingham Palace has said. Opposition parties accuse Johnson of seeking to distract public attention, with his position in peril as police probe lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street. Keir Starmer, leader of the main Labour opposition, said the new measures were "not enough to prepare us for the new variants which may yet develop" and urged Johnson to publish the scientific advice underpinning his decision. "We have to take the public with us and that requires clarity about why decisions are being made," headded. Under the plan, as well as ending the legal self-isolation requirement, the government will scrap all contact tracing of positive cases later this week. It wants local authorities to manage further outbreaks with pre-existing legal powers and the private sector to provide everyday tests, while health agencies maintain stockpiles for possible future use. Nationwide surveillance testing, in particular a respected weekly study run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), will also be maintained to detect new variants. Meanwhile, health officials also announced that the over-75s and severely immunosuppressed would be offered another vaccination booster jab around six months after their last dose, in a bid to protect the most vulnerable. – Agencies