US citizens in Lebanon refuse repatriation offer, saying it's 'safer' in Beirut CNN report

2^min

28-year-old US humanitarian consultant from Montana Carly Fuglei decided to stay in Lebanon and refused a US repatriation offer, saying that she thinks she is safer here.

"I made that decision for a combination of personal reasons and calculations about the virus that we're all making," says Fuglei.

"I think that I am probably safer here," she added.

It's a decision that several US citizens in Beirut who CNN spoke to have expressed, citing skyrocketing cases in the US.

When the US government last week said it would fly its citizens and permanent residents to the US on a chartered flight for $2,500 per person, some Americans took to Twitter to publicly decline the offer.

Beirut-based freelance journalist Abby Sewell wrote in a tweet about the US embassy announcement.

Sewell tells CNN she never considered taking the US embassy's offer.

"From everything I'm reading, the situation is worse in the US, in terms of the number of cases, prevention measures or lack thereof, and how overburdened the health system is," she says.

"Also, since I've been living overseas for years, I don't have health insurance in the US now, so if I did go back and then got sick, I would be looking at paying thousands of dollars out of pocket."

US citizens in Lebanon refuse repatriation offer, saying it's 'safer' in Beirut-CNN report

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