Correct Answer:
A. North Korea
Explanation:
The correct answer is North Korea because the country formally acknowledged its very first domestic COVID-19 infection on May 12, 2022, breaking its long-standing claim of maintaining a flawless zero-case profile.
- North Korea: This is the correct choice. On May 12, 2022, North Korean state media officially announced that a collection of patient samples collected in Pyongyang tested positive for the highly transmissible Omicron variant, prompting leader Kim Jong Un to immediately declare a severe national emergency and establish a nationwide lockdown.
- Incorrect Options:
- Vietnam: This is incorrect. Vietnam identified its initial COVID-19 cases much earlier in January 2020.
- Cuba: This is incorrect. Cuba registered its initial COVID-19 infections early in March 2020.
- None of these: This is incorrect because Option 1 represents the exact nation that declared the milestone outbreak.