Simon Cowell is making his son wear a mask amid coronavirus threat

Simon Cowell has admitted to feeling "terrified" over the coronavirus threat and is urging his six-year-old son to wear a medical mask in public.

The America's Got Talent judge said in an interview with talkRADIO that he will "100 per cent be wearing masks" when he takes his son to Disneyland Paris next weekend.

"And we'll have loads of hand sanitiser because it does scare me," the 60-year-old told The Sun's executive editor Dan Wootton.

"I am terrified about it. I have worn masks for ages. When I cycle around town I wear a mask."

He also discussed how there's no chance he'd step foot on a cruise ship in the wake of Diamond Princess cruise being quarantined in Japan due to the virus.

"Why they haven't taken them off and put them in a proper hospital is unbelievable," he said. "That's somewhere I wouldn't go."

Cowell referred to the coronavirus epidemic as resembling the kind of stuff you'd see in movies.

"With so many people travelling around the world it was always going to happen one day," Cowell continued. "We're seeing it right in front of our eyes right now. It does worry me."

Cowell has recently paid close attention to his health after switching to a vegan diet and losing 9kg.

"You feel better," he told Access Hollywood in August last year. "My memory's better, I feel better, so I didn't find it difficult. I can still drink beer, so I'm happy."

The coronavirus has infected more than 73,325 people and killed 1,875, according to latest data.