TORONTO -- Manitobans who have recently lost loved ones to COVID-19 in the province’s health care facilities are speaking up about the pain they’re experiencing and are calling for change.

Eddie Calisto-Taveres stayed with her father Manuel Castilo during his dying moments on Wednesday night, determined to make sure he knew he was loved.

“My dad was a strong, determined man,” Calisto-Taveres told CTV News.

Calisto-Taveres spent her father’s final days along side him from inside his care home and is now self-isolating away from family members.

“We told him we loved him and that we would be strong for him and I would continue sharing the stories of him to my grandchildren,” she said.

In total, 26 Manitobans have died since Monday, including 18 in the past two days alone. Five of these deaths are linked to long-term care homes.

Two of the province’s biggest outbreaks at these facilities are owned by Revera, a for-profit company based out of Ontario. The outbreaks are responsible for about 50 deaths in total.

Larry Baillie, whose father Glen, a former Toronto police officer, died in one of Revera’s facilities, questions what is happening differently in Revera’s long-term care homes compared to others in the province.

“As my dad would say: ‘Only the facts, Jack. The facts.’ The facts? Most of the deaths in long-term care facilities in Manitoba have been tied to Revera homes,” he said.

On Wednesday, Revera president and CEO Thomas Wellner wrote on the company’s website that their focus remains on caring for its residents.

“Our hearts ache for the families of those who have lost a loved one, and our staff who cared for them,” Wellner wrote. “In Winnipeg, we are grateful that the (Winnipeg Regional Health Authority) will be providing additional staff; together with Red Cross personnel, they will provide some much-needed relief for our devoted but exhausted staff.”

The virus has also recently claimed the lives of two health-care workers in Manitoba.

Jean Claude Dianzenza Bahati worked on the front lines of the Victoria General Hospital, where an outbreak had recently been declared.

Dianzenza Bahati passed away on Friday at the age of 60, leaving behind 10 children and 10 grandchildren. He was also an advocate for the Congolese community.

"This situation right now is very bad," said his daughter Jeanceline Mangiri. "Sometimes I think it's like a joke. Maybe he just went to sleep, and he's going to come back. It's so painful."

As of Thursday, 80 patients and staff members at the Victoria General Hospital tested positive for COVID-19. Ten of them have died.

Dianzenza Bahati’s daughters are calling for protections for people working on the front lines of the virus.

"They should take more preventive measures to protect the health care workers, doctors, anyone in the health-care system, because we can see they are not protecting them enough," said one of Dianzenza Bahati’s other daughters Paolla Mangiri.

In a message on the Victoria General Hospital website, it notes that protocols have been implemented to ensure protections of patients, staff and other visitors.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the patients and their families who have been impacted by this outbreak," reads the statement on the hospital’s website. "Please be assured our team is working around the clock to contain the virus and to provide the safest possible environment for patients and staff."

With files from CTV News Winnipeg