Food safety officials in the province have cleared The Bicycle Thief to reopen on Tuesday after several staff members and customers reported illness from a suspected outbreak of norovirus last week.

The Food Protection and Enforcement Division of the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture inspected the Bicycle Thief Monday morning and say they are satisfied with the job the cleaning staff did.

On Thursday, some people who were at the downtown Halifax restaurant complained of acute gastroenteritis symptoms.

The restaurant will be able to reopen on Tuesday, but the only staff allowed back are those that have been free of symptoms for at least 48 hours.

The agriculture department and the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia are also talking to other restaurants in the area to make sure they are taking appropriate norovirus precautions.

Norovirus, which causes cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, is also known as "cruise ship virus," and is notorious for its ability to make hundreds of passengers sick at a time. Each year, it hits an estimated 20 per cent of the population and is responsible for millions of hospitalizations in North America.

Noroviruses are believed to cause about half of all food-borne disease outbreaks in the U.S. and 90 per cent of non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide.