Was this new core version applied to Electrum wallet as well? I didn't see a new Electrum wallet version come out.
Since 0.16.1 update don't change any bitcoin protocol or features, Electrum don't have to upgrade their wallet to support the changes.
Besides, i don't see any reason why would new Core's update need to be applied to Electrum since both of them are different wallet with different features. All that matters that a wallet's implementation must follow Bitcoin protocol.