Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday apologised after he criticised "Western tourists" for not wearing face masks and suggested they be expelled from the country for putting others at risk during the coronavirus outbreak.

The outburst came as the kingdom faced steep losses over a drop in visitors from China, where the virus has killed more than 600 people and prompted travel restrictions.

Mr Anutin was giving out masks at the Siam skytrain station entrance and complained that "farang," or Western, tourists did not take them and acted as if they "don't care".

"These kinds of people, we should kick them out of Thailand," he told reporters, waving a handful of masks in the air.

Mr Anutin did not respond to additional requests for comment but posted an apology on his Facebook page for "losing it" after "some foreigners from Europe" were uncooperative in the mask campaign.

Debates over the efficacy of masks have sparked on the internet since the contagion first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan last month.

Health experts generally agree masks are useful if you have respiratory symptoms or are caring for patients.

But the World Health Organization's own Thailand office tweeted a graphic on Feb 4 stating masks are "not needed for general public who do not have respiratory symptoms".