ST. PAUL — Minnesota’s health insurance exchange has signed up or renewed more than 30,000 residents since open enrollment began last month, officials said Thursday as they urged people not to wait until the last minute to meet the Dec. 15 deadline to have coverage for the start of the New Year.

MNsure is preparing for a rush of web traffic ahead of the Monday deadline, increasing call center hours to help consumers looking to avoid a lapse in coverage. MNsure CEO Scott Leitz stressed that the exchange is prepared to handle the pre-deadline spike, but that people shouldn’t wait.