KUALA Lumpur City Hall is collecting data on the homeless that were rounded up during the Covid-19 outbreak, said mayor Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan.

He said the data that includes biometrics will be used by the Social Welfare Department to provide assistance.

“Those rounded up are also being screened for Covid-19 by the Health Ministry. None have tested positive yet,” he was quoted as saying by Malay-language daily Harian Metro.

He said the homeless are now being housed at four community halls since the operation started on March 26.

The halls are Pusat Komuniti Sentul Perdana, Pusat Komuniti Setiawangsa, Dewan Serbaguna Alam Damai and Dewan Serbaguna Tasik Ampang Hilir.

He said nationalities of those at the halls are Indonesians, Myanmar, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian nationals, Syrians, Egyptians, Sri Lankans, Koreans, Pakistanis and Somalians.

He added many ended up jobless and been on the streets ever since.

He said each of them are provided with a pillow, mattress and other essentials at the halls.

City Hall has set aside RM2 million for the operation.

He said City Hall welcomes public donations at the halls. – April 1, 2020.