diff --git a/selftests/run_coverage b/selftests/run_coverage
index 7efad79263..63b1ff7e00 100755
--- a/selftests/run_coverage
+++ b/selftests/run_coverage
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ echo "Using coverage utility: $COVERAGE"
 
 $COVERAGE erase
 rm -f .coverage.*
+export COVERAGE_PROCESS_START=.coveragerc
 $COVERAGE run selftests/check.py --skip=static-checks
 $COVERAGE combine
 echo
diff --git a/sitecustomize.py b/sitecustomize.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..25532bafc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sitecustomize.py
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+import coverage
+coverage.process_startup()