MEXICO CITY—The considerable toll that H1N1, also known as swine flu, has taken on Mexico has not spared at least one city’s cultural offerings. Visits to some of Mexico City’s museums have fallen by as much as 90 percent since the outbreak of the virus last month, which prompted a near shutdown of numerous facilities. Owners of some of the privately owned museums here are seeking financial help from the government and say that if attendance doesn't pick up, they may have to take drastic measures, such as cutting staff by half and opening for only three days a week. Private museums receive no government support and depend on entrance fees to survive.

Five of the city’s non-government-owned museums — including the Dolores Olmedo Museum, which houses a collection of paintings by Frida Kahlo; the Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum; and the Frida Kahlo Museum — have petitioned the government for help. They accuse it of ignoring the cultural sector’s needs after the shutdowns. One proposal is to create an association of nongovernmental museums to improve their access to the media and reduce the taxes they have to pay.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.