A restaurant owner in Chiang Mai was told to remove a notice banning Chinese customers from her establishment on Sunday after photos of the sign went viral on social media.

Tourist Police soon got a sniff of the story and paid the restaurant a visit where the owner told them she felt she had no other choice after a large group of Thai customers left fearing they would catch the coronavirus when a party of Chinese tourists stopped in to eat.

Officers said the sign had to go and should be replaced with something a little more subtle, suggesting she write the restaurant has run out of food.

Social media users were split over the debate about the sign, with around half agreeing saying it should be the owners choice while the other half said it made Thailand look bad