An outbreak at a Scarborough long-term care has become the deadliest in the province since the start of the pandemic with 73 resident deaths.

North York General Hospital, which is temporarily managing Tendercare Living Centre, said in a statement Thursday that two more residents with COVID-19 have died in the past 24 hours.

The death toll at the 256-bed facility located in the area of McNicoll and Victoria Park avenues has surpassed the 70 fatalities recorded at Orchard Villa long-term care home in Pickering during the first wave of the pandemic.

“Our deepest sympathies are with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives to this devastating virus. Their passing is very hard for the team at Tendercare who knew and cared for them,” the hospital said in a statement.

The outbreak at the facility declared early in December had seen 182 residents and 106 staff members testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

As of Thursday, 23 residents and 32 staff members remain infected. The hospital is reporting no new resident cases on Thursday.

Families and advocates have been calling on the Ford government to send the military to the facility to assist with the outbreak. Several protests had also been held outside Tendercare, which is operated by Extendicare, to put a spotlight on the ongoing situation.

North York General Hospital had noted that widespread transmission was happening at the home before its staff was deployed to help control the spread. In mid-December, an inspection done by the Ministry of Long-Term Care found “inconsistent” infection prevention and control practices at the home.

During a town hall earlier this week, Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos, a long-term care advocate, noted that Ontario is at a pivotal time in the second wave, which is why she said the government needs to act quickly before the situation at Tendercare and other long-term care homes in the province gets worse.

“We cannot keep relying on a reactionary response after the fact. We need to get into these homes at a critical time at the start of their outbreaks and help to prevent these mass casualty events because as it stands right now, they will continue, and they will get worse if we don’t do anything,” Stamatopoulos said.

According to the Ministry of Health, there are 288 long-term care homes in the province dealing with active COVID-19 outbreaks.

The province said 43 of the record 89 deaths reported on Thursday were residents of nursing homes.

Meanwhile, residents, staff, and essential caregivers who want to be vaccinated will be able to receive it through Scarborough Health Network starting on Sunday.