A lot of people are out of work in Pennsylvania right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And many have never had to submit a claim for unemployment compensation before. The process can be confusing and intimidating. We've been getting a lot of questions about the unemployment process, so we took them and asked an expert to answer them. James Pearl is an attorney in Philadelphia, he's been practicing for more than 20 years, and he specializes in business disputes and pretty much everything surrounding small and medium businesses and employment issues. Pearl answers questions like: - Who is eligible for unemployment? - How much money can I expect, my full salary or a percentage? - Do I have to use my paid time off before filing for employment? Should I? - What do I put on the form? - How does my health insurance work while I'm not receiving a paycheck? - Am I eligible for unemployment if I have no one to watch my kids? IMPORTANT LINKS: PA Unemployment Website: https://www.uc.pa.gov Information for PA employees impacted by COVID-19: https://www.uc.pa.gov/Pages/covid19.aspx See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

UPDATE: The Governor has extended the deadline for enforcement until Monday, March 23, at 8:00 AM.  We know a bit more than we did last night about the ordered closure of non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania amid the coronavirus pandemi. And since then, some of the business types have switched categories. Ian Bush and Tom Rickert talk about the changes and wrap up one of the strangest weeks in the news we can remember. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Protection asks businesses with questions as to whether their organization needs to close to email ra-dcedcs@pa.gov. Any business interested in seeking a waiver to the order can reach out to the state directly by emailing ra-dcexemption@pa.gov or calling 1-877-PA-HEALTH and select option 1. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We don't hear a lot about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. At least, we didn't until COVID-19 started being the only thing we talked about. But there's a lot we can learn from what was "almost certainly the worst plague in human history," according to George Wohlreich, President and Chief Executive Officer of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Wohlreich joins KYW In Depth to tell us what happened back then and what we've learned from it. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Can your blood type make you more susceptible to COVID-19? Why are men and women getting sick and dying at different rates? If we social distance well, how long will it take for things to go back to normal? Why do you need to stay 10 feet away from other people if you absolutely don't want to get sick? The answers to these questions and more come from Dr. Krys Johnson at Temple's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Johnson was also an Emerging Infectious Disease Fellow at Florida's Department of Health during the Zika outbreak. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Congressman Andy Kim represents New Jersey's 3rd district. He is currently self-quarantining after he came into direct contact with another member of Congress who tested positive for COVID-19. Carol MacKenzie talked to Congressman Kim about what self-quarantining looks like, what's involved, and what kind of symptoms he's experiencing. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has ordered the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses starting at 8pm Thursday, March 19th. KYW Newsradio's Ian Bush, Charlotte Reese, and Tom Rickert break down the five-page list sent out by the governor's office to try and figure out what exactly is on the list of life-sustaining businesses, and what isn't. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Ian Bush asks Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney questions live on KYW Newsradio, including about how Philadelphia is preparing for more cases of COVID-19, the additional measures the city is taking to combat the spread of coronavirus, and how the justice system is operating during a pandemic. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We have a lot of questions about how this pandemic is affecting the economy, so we started by asking two economists from the Philly area some basic questions about the fallout from COVID-19. David Fiorenza is a Professor of Practice at the Villanova school of Business and Adam Pellillo is an Assistant Professor of Economics at La Salle University. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

SEPTA is changing how often the busses and trains run. KYW Newsradio's Mike DeNardo talked to SEPTA management and he joins KYW In Depth to report back on what the changes mean for riders. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Gas stations are one of the critical businesses in New Jersey allowed to stay open at all hours. New Jersey is also the only state in the U.S. where it's illegal to pump your own gas. As a consequence, people who pump gas in the Garden State are now firmly on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, stuck between performing a critical job and trying to maintain social distancing recommendations. KYW Newsradio's Mike DeNardo went to a gas station to talk with one of the people helping keep New Jersey's cars and trucks on the road. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

The shelves at the grocery store where you normally find bottled water have been empty since people started stocking up for the COVID-19 pandemic. At the water utility company Aqua America, they've gotten some phone calls from people asking whether they should be concerned about coronavirus in drinking water, or if the virus could survive the water treatment process. Aqua America's Chief Environmental Officer Dr. Chris Crockett joins KYW In Depth to talk about how the utility cleans drinking water, why water treatment kills viruses, and how they're keeping employees safe. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Normally, deciding whether you're going away for the weekend or just going to the grocery store isn't all that complicated. But watching much of our lives grind to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic is having a big impact on how we make decisions -- and it's taking a significant toll on consumer behavior. Today on KYW In Depth Dr. Crystal Reeck, associate director of the Center for Applied Research in Decision Making at Temple University joins the podcast to help break down how the brain processes risk and uncertainty. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

"In the salon business, if you don't work you don't get paid." For a lot of people working close contact jobs, working from home isn't really an option. Today on KYW In Depth, we talk to a hair stylist about how the pandemic is affecting her life and business, and how her family is going to survive financially.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Alynna Williams was a star basketball player for Jefferson University. Saul Phiri started at guard for La Salle. Both of them are seniors, and both of them watched their college careers end without playing their last game.  KYW sports anchor and reporter Matt Leon takes over KYW In Depth for an episode with the story of how two college athletes in their senior year are dealing with having their careers ended early because of the coronavirus pandemic. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

For a lot of people, an unplanned two weeks off from work is devastating. Paying bills is going to be hard, and so is buying food for the family. In Philadelphia, some community groups and churches are stepping up to help out where they can. KYW's Cherri Gregg is here on KYW In Depth to talk about two efforts in Philadelphia to help get food to people who need it.    See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Ally is a senior at Temple University who was studying abroad in Spain when a student there tested positive for COVID-19. Ally and the other Temple students were told to leave as soon as possible, so she scrambled to buy a flight and get home.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

One of the biggest changes brought to the Philadelphia area by coronavirus went into effect on Monday. March 16th, when Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf ordered all restaurants and bars in four counties in our area, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, to end dine-in service for the next two weeks. On Monday afternoon, Philadelphia added itself to the restaurant restrictions -- pick up and delivery is still fine but you can't go to a restaurant and sit down to eat any more. So what does that mean for the businesses, their customers, and maybe especially the employees who have two weeks of empty restaurants to look forward to? KYW's Justin Udo checked in with the Folcroft Diner in Delaware County to find out how business has changed. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Brian McDonough is back on KYW In Depth to answer more listener questions about the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, including: - I work in the Giant grocery store and I'd like to know how I can protect myself, waiting on so many people?  - I'm an Uber driver, I do pick-ups at Philadelphia International Airport and 30th St Station, I pick up people that come from different parts of the world. Should I continue to drive Uber?  - I know that pets can't get COVID-19, but can pets spread it if you cough on your pet -- can they get the virus on their fur and pass it on that way? - Will the virus wane in the heat or the summer? - After you get sick, how long is the recovery? Can you be re-infected? - If your family member is quarantined, is the whole family quarantined? What steps should you be taking at home to keep that virus from spreading to your other family members?  - Can coronavirus could be spread or caught through putting one’s laundry in a laundromat? - Can coronavirus be spread through someone's vape cloud? See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

We've been hearing a lot of questions about why events are being canceled and schools closed for coronavirus, but not for the flu. We asked Doctor Harvey Rubin at the University of Pennsylvania to come back on KYW In Depth to break down why coronavirus is different. Dr. Rubin also took the time to do an updated Q&A with us. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

The CDC is out with new guidelines to slow down the spread of COVID-19, and Governor Phil Murphy makes some changes in New Jersey. Subscribe to KYW In Depth on the radio.com app or wherever you get your podcasts for breaking and developing news about coronavirus in the Philadelphia area. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Basketball seasons usually end with a final game, a playoff game if everything goes according to plan. But this year, college seasons across the country ended with much less pomp and circumstance. Today on KYW In Depth, Jefferson University women's basketball coach Tom Shirley, Drexel University women's basketball coach Denise Dillon, and Swarthmore College men's basketball coach Landry Kosmalski talk to KYW Newsradio's Matt Leon about the moment they found out that the coronavirus pandemic had ended their seasons.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Main Line Health is one of the largest local health systems in the Philadelphia area, and they're already treating several patients suspected to have coronavirus. Dr. James Gengaro joins the podcast from the Main Line Health COVID-19 incident command center to explain how the network of hospitals is preparing for a worsening virus outbreak. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has made the decision to close all Pennsylvania schools. A short time before that, Philadelphia officials announced, relunctantly, that schools in the city would shut down. KYW Newsradio City Hall Bureau Chief Pat Loeb joins KYW In Depth to explain how and why the city's plans changed so fast. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine gave an update on how many people in Pennsylvania have tested positive for the Coronavirus. KYW reporter Tony Romeo attended the briefing in Harrisburg, he joins KYW In Depth with his biggest takeaways from the news conference. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

For four hours on Friday, a couple hundred drivers pulled their cars up to a mobile triage unit behind Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Delaware for a drive-through coronavirus test set up by ChristianaCare. KYW Newsradio reporter David Madden joins KYW In Depth to explain what the test looks like, who was determined to be eligible to take the test, and how the drive-through model ended up working out. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.