Stringent public health measures imposed across Canada to control the COVID-19 pandemic have nearly suppressed most seasonal respiratory viruses, with the notable exception of human rhinovirus/enterovirus (hRV/EV). Thanks to this unexpected persistence, we highlight that hRV/EV could serve as a sentinel for levels of contact rate in populations to inform on the efficiency¬, or the need of, public health measures to control the subsequent COVID-19 epidemic, but also for future epidemics from other seasonal or emerging respiratory pathogens.