KUALA LUMPUR: Some 510 homeless people have now been temporarily placed in two transit homes and four community centres around the city as part of a measure by the City Hall to keep them safe during the Movement Control Order (MCO).
KL mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan the measures would involve facilities including two homeless transit centres in Jalan Pahang and Anjung Singgah, four community centres and multipurpose halls managed by the City Hall.
They include Sentul Perdana and Setiawangsa community centres, as well as Alam Damai Cheras and Tasik Ampang Hilir multipurpose halls.
“We will continue to look after them during the MCO. Some are running away to avoid contact (during the pandemic),” he told reporters after visiting the Sentul Perdana community centre today.
He said the homeless people were all tested negative for Covid-19 and they were divided according to categories including those in good physical health, whether they are suffering from a communicable disease or mental illness, their drug habit, as well as the non-citizens.
“Those who are physically healthy are at the Sentul Perdana community centre and Tasik Ampang Hilir multipurpose hall that can take 181 and 62 people each.
“The Setiawangsa community centre, that can accommodate with 95 people, is for those with health issues, while the Alam Damai Cheras multipurpose hall accommodates 30 non-citizens,” Nor Hisham said.
Aside from this, 99 men are placed at the Jalan Pahang transit centre, with 43 men and women including three children are getting temporary accommodation at Anjung Singgah. Both facilities are run by Yayasan Kebajikan Negara.
Nor Hisham said DBKL would keep biometric data of each residents for records purposes.
He said non-governmental organisations could contribute to the shelters after seeking guidance from the Welfare Department (JKM) and adhering to the Standard Operating Procedure by the National Security Council (MKN).
“Right now, we can’t allow food to be distributed at Medan Tuanku, because because we are required to observe social distancing”. – Bernama