Merge RC_v1.6.x into main for v1.6.1 release

[w-k-jones]

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 63.55%. Comparing base (38b2ca0) to head (afd4851).
⚠️ Report is 23 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main     #519      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   63.61%   63.55%   -0.07%     
==========================================
  Files          27       27              
  Lines        3851     3844       -7     
==========================================
- Hits         2450     2443       -7     
  Misses       1401     1401              

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	63.55% <100.00%> (-0.07%)	⬇️

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[github-actions]

Linting results by Pylint:

Your code has been rated at 8.31/10 (previous run: 8.31/10, +0.00)
_{The linting score is an indicator that reflects how well your code version follows Pylint’s coding standards and quality metrics with respect to the main branch.
A decrease usually indicates your new code does not fully meet style guidelines or has potential errors.}