LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department has tightened Lincoln restaurant rules, prohibiting restaurant workers from touching cooked food with their bare hands.

A health-related advisory board to the department approved the no-bare-hands policy earlier this month.

Scott Holmes, manager of the department’s environmental health division, says the idea behind the policy is that once food is cooked, no staffer should touch it before it’s served.

The proposal allows some exceptions, such as garnishing beverages and washing produce with bare hands. Staff can also touch food before it’s cooked.

The board recommended the proposal to prevent outbreaks of a flu-like illness called norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhea.

The City Council will likely hold a public hearing on the policy April 11.