WASHINGTON - Days after outbursts of arson and vandalism struck downtown Washington following peaceful protests against police brutality, the largely deserted heart of the U.S. capital resembles a city girding for a hurricane.

For block after block, office buildings and windows of upscale restaurants that cater to lobbyists, lawyers and business executives are being sheathed in plywood. Traffic, thinned by a two-month coronavirus lockdown, remains sparse and the outdoor patios of sandwich shops and bars are empty of lunch-time crowds.