Michigan State Rep. Isaac Robinson Dies from Suspected Coronavirus Infection in Detroit

Michigan State Representative Isaac Robinson died on Sunday morning in Detroit after he was hospitalized hours earlier over respiratory issues. Robinson had not been tested for COVID-19, but his mother says the virus is suspected to have caused his death.

The 44-year-old Detroit Democrat was transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning local time after having experienced breathing problems for days. In an obituary, published by Crain's Detroit Business, Rose Mary Robinson, a former Democratic Detroit state representative who's the deceased's mother, confirmed that her son had not been tested for COVID-19 prior to his death, but that the new disease is suspected to have caused his passing.

"I called EMS, they took him to Receiving at 6 a.m. and he was dead by 11," she said, adding that he had been experiencing issues with breathing for days and refused to visit a doctor.

"He wouldn't go to the hospital. I kept insisting the last three days," she said. "I kept saying, 'You should go to the doctor, go to the hospital.' Of course, he resisted."

Michigan House Democratic Leader Christine Greig also confirmed to local news outlet WWMT that Robinson passed away due to suspected complications from COVID-19.

Newsweek reached out to Greig for additional information.

Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan paid tribute to Robinson on Twitter Sunday evening. "This hits home. State Rep. Isaac Robinson was full of life and loved his residents. Our community won't be the same without him," she tweeted.

Detroit State Rep. Tyrone Carter tested positive for the novel coronavirus three days ago. Carter confirmed on Sunday that he is "physically" fine but "devastated" over his colleague's death. It is unclear whether Carter had been in physical contact with Robinson in recent weeks.

"I'm on the recovery road," Carter said. "Mentally, this one knocked the wind out of me. Detroit just lost a warrior."

"A lot people didn't know how brilliant he was," he added. "You'd never know Isaac went to UM. You'd never know Isaac went to Northwestern High School with Supreme Court Justice (Richard) Bernstein."

The global coronavirus infection toll has exceeded 700,000, with more than 30,000 deaths worldwide.

The United States recently became the country with the highest number of confirmed cases, surpassing China and Italy. COVID-19 cases in American passed 101,000 on Friday. Although New York and Washington have been hit hardest, Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans have seen a rapid increase in new cases in recent days.

35 people in Detroit have died from the virus as of Sunday morning, with more than 1,500 Detroit city residents testing positive, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.