Watford residents have vented their fury after Boris Johnson confirmed he was delaying ‘freedom day’ by a month.

The June 21 landmark when all social distancing measures were to be scrapped has now been postponed until July 19 due to fears over the Delta variant.

Scientists have warned that the rapid spread of the strain first identified in India risks a “substantial” third wave if left unchecked.

While some welcomed the delay, that reasoning failed to wash with the majority of people who blasted the decision on social media.

Among them was Liv Oborn, who wrote: “Of course this would happen, could of bet money on it.

“It’s ridiculous now, it’s all control.”

Charlott Saunders added: “I literally don’t know how as humans we’re allowing these decisions to be made because 5k people have Covid out of 67 million we need to learn to live with this now!

“So frustrating!!”

Phillip Soskin wrote “if we can’t end lockdown now we never will”, with Natalie Shilling branding the delay “ridiculous”.

“Is the vaccine working or not?” she added.

“Can’t keep us locked up while claiming the vaccine works.

This Is Local London: Some of the social media reaction to the delaySome of the social media reaction to the delay

“We need to get back to living with this as it’s never going away.”

In Watford there were 71 cases during the seven days to June 14, up by 30 from the previous seven days, according to the Government’s website.

Nationally cases exceeded 7,000 for the sixth day running yesterday (Monday) but the number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test remained in single figures.

Just under 67 per cent of adults in Watford have had one dose of the vaccine while 45.6 per cent have had two.

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The delay comes as a hammer blow for the town’s nightlife as venues like Pryzm Watford are forced to wait even longer to reopen.

General manager Jason Ash told the Observer: “Having been closed for almost 16 months, we are very disappointed by yesterday’s decision.

“The late-night sector, including clubs like ours, urgently needs additional financial support from the Treasury.”

Meanwhile Bar Bodega has already announced it has closed and is “not sure what the future holds”.

Multiple people voiced their sadness on the bar’s Facebook post with one claiming restrictions being in place for so long is sabotaging people’s livelihoods.