XLSXWriter can one use xl_rowcol_to_cell as the cell to act on in conditional formating using type formula? - python-2.7

Question

and thanks in advance for any assistance.
Based on the code snippet below, I'm trying to take the information from SUMMARY_LIST and add it to an xlsx worksheet. I'm then trying to colorize the cells based on 3 conditional formats,
green, text in cell in column A is equal to PASS
yellow, text in cell in column A contains the word PARTIAL and the value in column B of the same row is greater or equal to 6; or the text in cell in column B is equal to CRITICAL
red, text in cell in column A contains the word FAIL and the value in column B if the same row is greater than or equal to 6; or the text in cell in column B is equal to EMERGENCY.
If I hard code the cell in the condition to either $A1 or $B1, I get the desired result, which is that the if my condition passes, then both cells in the row that match either condition will get the appropriate background color.
If I substitute xl_rowcol_to_cell(0,0,col_abs=True) for $A1 and/or xl_rowcol_to_cell(0,1,col_abs=True) for $B1, the cells in my row doesn't get colorized.
In the snippet, I'm trying to colorize the background red if either my cell in column A contains the word "FAIL" and the value in column B is >= 6; OR the cell in column B contains the word "EMERGENCY".
When I run the script, neither the cells in the row containing the word FAIL or the row containing the word EMERGENCY are changed to a red background.
Is there an error in my conditional formatting statement for formatting in red or is it not possible to use the xl_rowcol_to_cell as an input to the condition?
import xlsxwriter
from xlsxwriter.utility import xl_range
from xlsxwriter.utility import xl_range_abs
from xlsxwriter.utility import xl_rowcol_to_cell
SUMMARY_LIST = [{'Item': 'Date', 'Value': '2023-01-11 14:09:16'}, {'Item': 'O/S Version', 'Value': '18.04.6 LTS (Bionic Beaver)'}, {'Item': 'CRITICAL EXPIRY THRESHOLD', 'Value': '6700'}, {'Item': 'EMERGENCY EXPIRY THRESHOLD', 'Value': '720'}, {'Item': 'TOTAL', 'Value': 6}, {'Item': 'PASS', 'Value': 6}, {'Item': 'PARTIAL PASS', 'Value': 6}, {'Item': 'FAIL', 'Value': 6}, {'Item': 'cert1', 'Value': 'EMERGENCY'}, {'Item': 'cert2', 'Value': 'CRITICAL'}]
wb = xlsxwriter.Workbook('myTest.xlsx')
ws = wb.add_worksheet()
row = 0
col = 0
inc = 0
formatEmerg = wb.add_format({'bg_color': 'red'})
formatCrit = wb.add_format({'bg_color': 'yellow'})
formatOk = wb.add_format({'bg_color': 'green'})
for item in SUMMARY_LIST:
inc = 0
for x in item.values():
ws.write(row,col + inc,x )
inc += 1
last_row = row
row += 1
col = 0
ws.conditional_format(xl_range(0,0,last_row,1),
{
'type':'formula',
'criteria':'=OR(and(left(xl_rowcol_to_cell(0,0,col_abs=True),4)="FAIL",(xl_rowcol_to_cell(0,1,col_abs=True)>=6)),left(xl_rowcol_to_cell(0,1,col_abs=True),9)="EMERGENCY")',
'format': formatEmerg
})
ws.conditional_format(xl_range(0,0,last_row,1),
{
'type':'formula',
'criteria':'=OR(and(left($A1,7)="PARTIAL",($B1>=6)),left($B1,8)="CRITICAL")',
'format': formatCrit
})
ws.conditional_format(xl_range(0,0,last_row,1),
{
'type':'formula',
'criteria':'=OR(and(left($A1,4)="PASS",($B1>=6)),left($B1,8)="CRITICAL")',
'format': formatOk
})
wb.close()
I haven't tried anything other than hardcoding the cell, or using the xl_rowcol_to_cell function.
My expectation is that the absolute column, represented by $A1, generated by xl_rowcol_to_cell(0,1,col_abs=True) would be substituted and the condition would evaluate the same as hardcoding the column as $A1. Same for column $B1.