Well, the Olympic Games in Tokyo are in full swing. Despite the lack of crowds, it is still a thrill to watch the amazing skills and athleticism of the Olympians. The Tokyo Games have adopted the Olympic slogan of Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together.
As I write this, more than half of Australia’s population are under lockdown. Yesterday we had a record number of deaths and cases, which increased 40% in one day. Canberra, the little known capital of Australia, is now in lockdown after not having a single case
for over a year. We are lagging behind the world on vaccination rates.
Sadly a few months back we had this all under control. So what went wrong?
One limo driver, without a mask or being vaccinated, drove a flight crew infected with the Delta strain to a hotel. Now the nation is mostly shutdown, hundreds of lives and livelihoods affected. All for one moron not masking up!
We have just had to cancel our Australia/NZ NPA conference at the aptly named “Quarantine Station” on Sydney Harbour.
On a personal note, my gorgeous wife Jackie (who many of you have met) turns 50 today and she can’t hug, or even see, her parents.
But there is one little ray of sunshine. On Saturday night we are having a Zoom cocktail party for Jackie with all her friends. The highlight is going to be a cocktail-making session by America’s CEO Tim Laird. Lori and Tim were kind enough to make a wonderful video for Jackie. NPA has been amazing in creating global friendships and we have been lucky enough to spend time with Tim and Lori (and Meri/Chatty and Lynn) around the world.
So thanks, NPA, for the camaraderie and friendships to get us through the tough times.