Indeed, the local lockdowns and the new national restrictions have kept the capacity in each building low, so we can't expect to go back to normal in a few months.

There's also no fairness in my department...In my department, every supervisor arranges the schedule for each group member. My supervisor only cares about postdocs but sees us PhD students as non-existent. I reported the unfairness to the department, but they just told me to comply with my supervisor. F**k!

I'm mainly asking about the situation in the UK. But if you're in another country, you can also talk about the situation in your area.
From June, many labs in universities have reopened. But recently, many areas have gone into local lockdown. I'd like to learn how the new lockdowns have affected your lab work.

I haven't been on here for a long time. If OP is still here, I just want to say, hey, OP, you're not alone!
I've seen so many things like this. Many supervisors are biased. So are departmental heads. When things happen, their bias make them choose to take one side, and treat the other side like rubbish. And when you ask for clarifications, they will never give you any clarifications. When they're biased, they are biased. They wouldn't admit it. They never acknowledge they've done anything wrong. They have power over you and they could do anything they want. You just can't get any justice from them. If you resist, they will take it further and make more people go against you. They're just like that. That's the true face of academia. I've never seen a PhD student who successfully resists the evilness from the people who have power.
If you want to get the university involved, you could try, but don't expect too much. The involvement of the university will be time-consuming and take away lots of energy from you. Lower your expectation. Also, try and talk to the potential university and see if that university can help.

Thanks cucaracha. That's helpful.
I think it's difficult for me to stay sane if I need to find out every supplier's name for each sample we've bought and to draw a picture of the experimental setup...

I'm writing my thesis now, but I wonder which part they usually focus on? Do they read the results and discussion chapters more careful than the things before them? Will they read my experimental methods carefully? I mean, do I have to dig out every detail of my experiments and write them down? Is it worth it? I hope I don't need to spend too much time writing every detail. If they don't read it carefully, then I shouldn't waste my time write a very detailed thesis.

I'm writing my thesis now, but I wonder which part they usually focus on? Do they read the results and discussion chapters more careful than the things before them? Will they read my experimental methods carefully? I mean, do I have to dig out every detail of my experiments and write them down? Is it worth it? I hope I don't need to spend too much time writing every detail. If they don't read it carefully, then I shouldn't waste my time write a very detailed thesis.

I don't think there's anything wrong with mentioning your dog's name before your supervisor's, if the dog has been more helpful than the supervisor.

When I'm reading papers, I notice that some authors show their ORCID, but most authors don't.
Is showing ORCID a requirement by some journals? Or always optional?
I think all authors should provide readers with their ORCID so that readers can know who they are, where they are now, and how to contact them. But why do most authors not show their ORCID? I hope journals will press all authors to provide their ORCID

Oh thanks abababa, this is very informative.
So now it's clear: the corresponding author of this paper doesn't need to upload this manuscript to his institution's repository.
But I don't quite understand this: 'It's generally better for them to have a small number of staff returning high-quality outputs'. Does it mean that the uni may choose not to return some academics' outputs just because they're deemed as non top quality? Is this allowed? I thought all academics' should be counted.

I've heard some German universities do that. But it seems that UK, US & French unis don't save master's dissertations online.
My master's dissertation isn't online :( Apparently my uni (in the UK) can't be arsed to do it.
I think it's good to put it online if you think your master's research is of high quality. If you're unsure, just ask your supervisor. If your supervisor says it's better not to put it online because the research quality isn't high, then don't do it.

But it seems that I can't. I'm a PhD student. I've heard people say PhD students' outputs don't count, only PIs' work counts. I've just browsed the REF guidance and searched 'PGR' and 'PhD', but it returns no meaningful results.

I have co-authored a paper, and the corresponding author signed an agreement required by the publishing house after the paper got accepted. The signed agreement has been sent to every authors, so I can see it. But there's something I don't quite understand.

In the agreement, it says:

'Some of the authors are employees of the UK, Canadian or Australian Government but Crown Copyright is not asserted'
What does this mean?

And then it says:
'At least one author is affiliated to a UK institution. I must deposit the accepted manuscript in my institutional repository and make this publicly available after an embargo period, in order to be eligible for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. '
Actually, amongst all the authors, only I am affiliated to a UK uni. But I'm a PhD student. I've heard that PhD students' research work doesn't count when unis are doing the REF, true? If so, then this paper doesn't need to be put in the corresponding author's institutional repository, right? Then I don't understand why this publishing house is making this fuss.

Thank everyone for your suggestions! But I'm still struggling to find a flat -_-

My current tenancy will end next month, and I'm now looking for a studio flat to rent for next academic year.
The problem is, I'm entering the writing-up stage and I'll need a flat for about 6 months. But I've just browsed some letting agencies' websites and I can see there's no 6-month lease at all for students! Some allows short term leases but it's only for professionals - I don't understand why! If I rent a whole year, and then I finish my thesis and (if successful) move to a job (unlikely in this town), then I can't make sure I can let my flat to someone else, which means I may lose £4,000-5,000! I simply can't take that!
Have you had similar struggles and how did you solve this problem?