Just about to “go” to work, but examining each of your sentences:

Neither is anybody else

Yes, they are

Yes, they do

No, you wouldn’t 

You’d be f**ked

The “subway” in London (Underground or Tube in our vernacular) is under the control of Transport for London, which is directly answerable to the Mayor of London, a chap by the name of Sadiq Khan.

Khan is one of those politicians who has been urging UK government to adopt extremely strict quarantine measures for a little while now, only just short of flogging miscreants and hurling them in the Thames. It was his idea to reduce the number of trains running on the Underground to a minimal service in order to discourage his citizens from travelling and spreading the virus, and also to look as if “he was doing something”, always a dangerous proposition in most people like that. Of course, from the law of unintended consequences, although pretty much predictable, there are fewer people,travelling, but still in their massed hordes on fewer trains.

The UK government had absolutely nothing to do with that decision. They are, however, culpable for issuing a ban on all commutes to work for jobs that are not essential or cannot be done from home, without specifying precisely what it regards as an essential job. Policy is being made on the hoof, and it was, again, entirely predictable that there is both confusion over what is deemed to be an essential job, and many private sector bosses deeming their work so utterly essential that it forced employees to come to work in sectors such as construction and retail. The decision to run fewer trains and carriages was that of the train operating companies, then still under private control, before being effectively renationalised.

In terms of the essence of your question, why do they allow things to happen, this suggests to me the usual issue of people expecting governments to do something. The expectation that those in charge have some magical powers in order to make things better and to take responsibility when things go wrong (this being a hilarious proposition to anybody versed in political history).

Those in government are human beings the same as the rest of us. They have exactly the same feelings, skills, faults, and stupidity as the rest of us, excepting that most of them have narcissistic tendencies somewhat higher than the average citizen - that is why most of them are there. They do not really have much of a clue how to run a country. Neither, in fact, do most of their officials have much of an idea how to run their departments. It is the reason why this modern childish idea, mainly fostered by the media, that somebody must do something is inherently dangerous, and the concept of individual responsibility diminishing equally so.

You're thinking he's a lot dumber than he is. One of my economics recommenders is friends with one of his chief economics advisors and the President listens a lot to what he has to say.

The numbers of the economy are all red flags that we're heading towards a depression, especially if it lasts for longer than a few months. He doesn't want to be remembered as the second coming of Herbert Hoover!

I have many friends in Peru and they tell me similar to what you report, things seem to be leveling out. My family in Honduras are reporting similar. Police investigating anybody on the street at night and making them go home or escorting them home, military is also on the prowl, but that is pretty normal for Honduras.

My wife has asthma also but is doing good, she is vigilant about washing hands and wiping down her desk daily. Good thing is she has never been a smoker .

Take care, cuidate!

Slds